Is it a boat? Is it a sea-doo? No—it’s a bathtub!
If you’ve been on the lookout for something charming and hilariously entertaining, you might want to find yourself in Nanaimo this weekend!
Brought to audiences by the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society, the 44th annual Great International World Championship Bathtub Race and Nanaimo Marine Festival is set to return.
Coined “Bathtub Weekend,” the race and festival will take place from Friday, July 25th to Sunday, July 27th, with events happening in and around downtown Nanaimo.
Friday’s highlights include a vendor market, food trucks, a kids zone, and live music to close off the evening.
Friday’s concert requires tickets, which are priced at $25 and can be purchased here. Featured musicians include Eagle Eyes, The Doobie Brothers Experience, and your host DJ All Good.
The following day will bring attendees all of this and more, with a bathtub parade along Commercial Street at 10:30 a.m. and a licensed beverage garden.
Beverages being served will include brews from Vancouver Island Brewing, Longwood Brewing, and Wolf Brewing.
This year’s race will start and end in Nanaimo Harbour, with jet-off scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday. The finish line is below the Frank Ney statue at Maffeo Sutton park!
Take a look at the full route:
It all began in 1967 when Canada was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the City of Nanaimo decided to throw a centennial event for the books.
More than 200 ‘tubbers’ signed up, and 47 completed the 36 mile course to Vancouver’s Fisherman’s Cove across the Strait of Georgia.
This year, the course has been altered slightly so all the bathtubs end up in downtown Nanaimo upon completion, but the length of the course will not change.
Most events throughout the weekend are free to attend, so bring all of your family and friends to witness this epic spectacle of human inventiveness and entertainment!
Nanaimo’s Bathtub Weekend
- Where: Maffeo Sutton Park, 100 Comox Road, Nanaimo
- When:
- Friday, July 25th from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Concert: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, July 26th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, July 27th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Great International World Championship Bathtub Race at 11 a.m.
- Friday, July 25th from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
