Third annual festival features 75 teams

The third annual Montana Dragon Boat Festival welcomes 75 teams to this year’s event, Saturday and Sunday.

The festival, which has quickly become one of the 10 largest in the nation, will kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at the Flathead Lake Lodge south of Bigfork. The first day of races will run until 5 p.m.

Sunday qualifying and championship rounds run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Teams are coming from all over North America, with 23 from Canada alone. 

The races consist of two boats sprinting on a designated track. The 46-foot long boats hold 22 people: 20 paddlers, one steersman and a drummer.

Admission is free to the event, and food and drink vendors will be on site. Official parking is $10 a car at the corner of Montana 82 and Montana 35. That includes a shuttle pass which is good all weekend. 

The event and race schedule as well as more dragon-boat history are available at montanadragonboat.com.