Press Release - June 24, 2006
Three traditional sedan chairs vividly decorated with the stylish "Brand Hong Kong" flying dragon today (Saturday) led the opening procession of the 18th Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival on the Centre Island, capturing the attention of thousands of visitors to the two-day annual event.

Organized by the Toronto Chinese Business Association (TCBA), this year's Dragon Boat Race Festival, is the largest ever held in Toronto. The Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, as sponsors of the event, added a new component to the Festival by introducing a new and entertaining competition -- "The Historic Family Adventure Race" -- in which families will be competing in a series of intellectual and physical challenges.

The highlight of "The Historic Family Adventure Race", to be held tomorrow (Sunday) will be the Hong Kong Sedan Chair Race. The finalists (eight families of four), will be participating in the race to complete the required tasks and to compete for first prize of a family trip to Hong Kong with four roundtrip air tickets, accommodation and a free guided tour to some of Hong Kong’s most popular tourist spots.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Dragon Boat Race Festival, the Assistant Director of the HKETO, Stephen Siu, said: "Hong Kong introduced dragon boat races to Canada about two decades ago, and helped nurture the races into a full-scale cultural festival together with the TCBA. We are delighted this time to add a new element to the Festival to generate more excitement. We hope to see the Sedan Chair Race becoming another popular event in Toronto after the annual Dragon Boat Festival."

This year's races are participated by 180 teams, including those from Canada and the United States. The Festival each year attracts over 25,000 visitors and is described as one of the largest international dragon boat races organized outside Hong Kong.
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For more information, please contact: Stephen Siu, Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at: (416)924-5544 or email: [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, [email protected]

(Photo caption) The "Brand Hong Kong" sedan chairs became the focus of attention at the opening procession of the 18th Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival. Photo shows (from right to left) the Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada), Stephen Siu, explaining to Toronto Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin and Federal MP Olivia Chow the history of Chinese sedan chairs and why Hong Kong is presenting the sedan chair race at this year’s Dragon Boat Race Festival to further strengthen the relationship between Toronto and Hong Kong.

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