GIVING BACK
divisions stay competitive. Last year, the fastest community division was won by a team from a downtown Burlington church.“ It’ s a great opportunity for companies; instead of an annual picnic, you can go and paddle with your co-workers and have that teamwork experience,” Kyle says. A sport division brings more experienced club teams, some of whom have competed at the national and international level.
The festival also features a lively on-land celebration: a dancing dragon parade, Taiko drumming, kids’ activities, food vendors, a raffle with donations from local businesses, and Spirit Awards for the best team costumes, chants, and tent decorations— including a fiercely contested prize for the best drummer costume. After the last race of the breast cancer survivors around noon, comes the flower ceremony, a quiet, beautiful, and moving moment in which paddlers float sunflowers on the lake in remembrance and gratitude.“ We want all the community
teams to experience the flower ceremony,” shares Vicky.“ Many teams begin to pack up and leave after their second race if they don’ t win a berth in one of the division semifinals. Since the flower ceremony is the‘ why’ of the festival, it is important to include it at a time where everyone can join in the experience.”
Over the life of the festival, Dragonheart Vermont has donated more than $ 1.2 million to other local cancer support organizations in the region. Past recipients include the McClure Miller Respite House and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UVM. This year’ s pledge partner is the Cancer Patient Support Foundation, which provides financial assistance to families navigating treatment costs and travel expenses. Roughly 25 to 35 percent of festival proceeds go to the designated partner each year.
Brett, who has been head coach since 2019, describes the experience of race day from inside the boat:“ It’ s mayhem, and then you hear the start bell, and there’ s this sense of calm that suddenly hits. When you cross the finish line, no matter what place you come in, that year, that two years, that four years of buildup shared with 19 other people … there’ s a bonding that you just don’ t get from other sports.”
A Year-Round Commitment
Dragonheart Vermont operates all year, and not just in lead up to the festival. From mid- May through the fall, teams practice two to three times a week on Lake Champlain from their base— known as Dyer Docks, in honor of the founders. The club owns seven boats, stores them over winter at coach Christina Allard’ s farm, and maintains a long-term agreement with Burlington Parks to use the public boat launch in exchange for ongoing waterfront improvements, including an ADAaccessible ramp.“ Burlington Parks has been a really good partner,” shares Kyle.
When the water gets too cold, the training
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