Picture the longest canoe you ever saw, and then lay about three of those end-to-end. Add twenty people in each canoe paddling like wild, one steersperson, one drummer to keep everyone in the rhythm — multiply this times three lanes running for 500 meters along the Crooked River, and you have the 2003 Burning River & Dragon Boat Fest. Sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing Co., the Western Reserve Rowing Foundation and the Ohio Environmental Council, it will be held on the Cuyahoga River in the Flats on Saturday, June 28 from 8:30 am-10 pm and Sunday, June 29 from 8:30 am - 8 pm.
So far, the event is mostly being pitched to participants. But it’s bound to make for some interesting spectating, too. The boats will go into the water at Nautica Complex, so you should be able to view some of the racing from the boardwalk on either the east or west bank of the Cuyahoga. Beware trying to park in the Flats that weekend, though, since the Ohio Irish Festival will be held in Nautica Complex at the same time. Take the RTA’s Waterfront Line, instead.