Team ChemoSavvy Thunder on the Red River for the 2016 Manitoba Dragon Boat Festival

WINNIPEG – Some 1,300 people hit the Red River at the Forks in Winnipeg to paddle dragon boats in the annual Manitoba Dragon Boat Festival over the weekend of September 9 to 12.

The event was in support of the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba. According to organizers, the festival has raised more than $1.25 million over the past four years for pediatric clinical trials, and care and support for children fighting cancer.

The long brightly coloured canoe-like dragon boats are powered by teams of 20 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer, and feature a dragon head on the prow.

Regina Ramos Urbano paddled for ChemoSavvy Thunder, a team consisting entirely of breast cancer survivors.