Over 1000 athletes will flood Lake Banook on Wednesday as the Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships kick off, running from August 3-7. Photo: Canoe '22

Canoe 22′ kicks off Wednesday, as athletes from around the world flock to Banook Lake, in Dartmouth, to compete for gold. 

The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships will see over 1000 athletes and team members from 70 countries. Canoe sprint is a race to the line on a flatwater course with international competition set over four distances: 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 meters.

Chair of the event, Jillian D’allessio said hosting the five-day event is huge for the Halifax Regional Municipality. 

“It’s looking to be one of the biggest economic drivers of the summer, which is really exciting,” D’allessio said. “It’s going to see an entire street festival down one side of Lake Banook, along with world-class racing for sprint canoe [and] kayak.”

The opening ceremony will take place Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., with an on-water parade of flags, followed by fireworks in partnerships with Natal Day and the Halifax Regional Municipality at 9:30 p.m..

Some big names in Canadian paddling will be hitting the lake during the event, including defending world women’s canoe champion, Katie Vincent. Local champ Connor Fitzpatrick and Olympic canoe paddler and kayak veteran, Michelle Russell will also be competing with team Canada. 

Brianna Hennessy will take to the water in both the kayak and canoe events with the women’s para-team.

Prince Albert Road will be closed to traffic along Lake Banook over the course of the five days, to accommodate guests, as well as make space for the accompanying festival. 

As part of the festival happening in tandem, there will be food trucks, a licensed beer garden and a marketplace with local vendors. Children and families will be able to take part in various crafting activities and games, and there will even be group yoga taking place on Silver’s Hill. 

One of the biggest pieces of the event are the free musical performances on the lake, scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. 

“We’re hoping that people will come down, not only during the day to check out the festival, but also come in and check out the [musical] artists.”

Artists such as Neon Dreams, Adam Baldwin and Beòlach will be on the Canoe ‘22 stage. 

For more information on what to do during Canoe ‘22, visit the event website here.