The Taiwanese Cultural Festival is still going on.... Sep 5-7th, 2009http://taiwanfest.ca/
But the Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race is canceled for this year.... so far.I have spoken with Festival Director Charlie Wu, and the cancellation was for several issues
Charlie would like to resurrect the Vancouver Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race, and hopefully continue a unique and traditional style of dragon boat racing that brought Flag grabbing to Canada in 2003 for six years straight. The boats in Vancouver are different from the Kaoshung Taiwanese boats in Portland OR. The boats in Vancouver are lighter, made of Alaskan cedarwood, so with their width, they really float on top of the water, enabling you to spin the boats when turning.
The Taiwanese boats used in Vancouver, are also used on the Mississippi River and on an American mid-west dragon boat circuit.
Check out the Dubuque Iowa dragon boat race.
http://www.dubuquedragonboat.org/aboutus.htmlThis year, the dragon boat race in Cedar Rapids Iowa, was cancelled due to low enrollment of 6 teams. They need 12 to continue.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090521/NEWS/705219927/1006Last year's Vancouver Taiwanese Races had 25 teams, lower than previous years of 30 teams.