Banff Lake Louise News

On August 22, Banff National Park will have 22 Buddhist Monks from Calgary's Avatamsaka Monastery visiting the shores of Lake Minnewanka to bless the dragon boats that are being used in the weekend's races.

The Eye Dotting Ceremony (the blessing) is an ancient ritual of "awakening the dragon" in which the Monks paint the eyes on each of the dragon boat figureheads to call forth their spirits. Chinese culture will be celebrated with traditional Chinese dancers and various other activities through out the festival.

Community spirit runs rampant in Banff National Park with 8 local teams entered (none of whom have ever paddled a dragon boat before I might add) and 7 'more experienced' teams from out of town competing in the races.

Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Town of Banff, Brewster Inc., local firefighters, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Banff Caribou Properties, Home Wise Renovations, and Henry's Electric will all be vying for local bragging rights throughout the weekend and once the boat wakes have calmed and the races are finished on Sunday August 24 the awards ceremony will take place.

Here's a little teaser video we created during the first ever paddle of the Banff Lake Louise Tourism team!

Join us in cheering on each of the teams on Saturday August 23 & Sunday August 24, and watch history in the making for the inaugural year of the Banff National Park Dragon Boat Festival!

We might be a small mountain town, but we know how to throw a party!

The Town of Banff has invited 4 of Canada's top acts to take the stage on Thursday August 21 for an "all day music extravaganza" to celebrate the refreshing our beautiful Banff Avenue underwent last summer.

Ron Sexsmith, Joel Plaskett Emergency, K-OS and Theory of a Deadman will be taking the stage in the middle of our redesigned, pedestrian friendly downtown from 1:00PM - 9:00PM.

Banff Live is free (here we are offering yet another free day of activities... we just can't help ourselves!) and will be an experience you won't want to miss... so come on out, join us and enjoy!

Looking for something to do with the family once the Stampede has left town?

On Saturday July 19th all of the National Parks across Canada will be hosting events and activities in celebration of Canada's treasures.

This years events within Banff National Park will be taking place at the Banff Community High School, which if you're unfamiliar with the town is close to downtown, 330 Banff Ave... ask a local, they'll point you in the right direction!

From 11am - 3pm you and your family could learn what the difference is between horns and antlers, watch a Parks Canada Fire Crew demonstration, enjoy the theatre with "Faces of Fire", join in a game of Wildlife Hockey and hop on the gigantic Brewster Ice Explorer to learn more about our glaciers.

As if that isn't enough to do, there are also guided walks along trails and up mountains, or enjoy a cup of tea in the historic Cascade of Times gardens or even learn how to take the best photo at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site!

For a full schedule of events and more details check our Calendar of Events

Did I mention all the activities are FREE?! Hope to see you there!