The 33rd Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival organised by the Toronto Chinese Business Association in collaboration with GWN Dragon Boat was held at Marilyn Bell Park on September 11 and 12. The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO) is a key sponsor of the event.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Director of HKETO, Ms Emily Mo, said she was glad that dragon boat racing has developed its roots in Canada and grown into a sport that brings people from different countries together.
"Dragon boat race signifies the strong and close ties between Hong Kong and Canada as we brought this modernized water sport from Hong Kong to Canada three decades ago," Ms Mo said.
Ms Mo moved on to highlight the close ties between Hong Kong and Canada where both places had the highest number of medals in history at the Olympics this year. "The motto of Olympics was changed this year into ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’, with ‘Together’ added to represent solidarity after an extremely testing pandemic period," Ms Mo said.
Noting the Festival this year has been postponed from June to September due to the pandemic, Ms Mo was delighted to join this opening ceremony in person as the city is reopening. At the Toronto Dragon Boat Race Festival, HKETO has set up a Hong Kong pavilion for visitors to learn more about the history of dragon boating and get some nice souvenirs about Hong Kong.
香港經貿處處長出席第33屆多倫多國際龍舟節
由多倫多華商會及GWN Dragon Boat合辦的第三十三屆多倫多國際龍舟節於九月十一及十二日在Marilyn Bell Park舉行。香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）是龍舟節的主要贊助機構。
香港經貿處處長巫菀菁在開幕禮上致辭，她欣悉龍舟競渡在加拿大已經紮根發展，並成為一項匯聚世界各地健兒的運動。
巫菀菁表示：「香港在三十年前將這項現代化的水上運動由香港引入加拿大，龍舟賽事見證了香港和加拿大的緊密聯繫。」
巫菀菁同時提及港加兩地各方面的密切關係，包括兩地都在今年奧運會創下獎牌總數的新紀錄。巫菀菁說：「奧運會今年的格言改為『更快、更高、更強 — 更團結』，加入『更團結』的口號代表了在疫情肆虐的考驗下團隊精神的重要。」
今年的龍舟節因疫情關係由六月延至九月舉行，巫菀菁表示很高興能夠因多倫多市重啟而親身出席開幕禮。在多倫多國際龍舟節上，香港經貿處特設香港展館供遊客參觀，了解更多有關龍舟歷史並可獲取一份有關香港的精美紀念品。
