After 22 years bathtub races return to English Bay this summer
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The wackiest and perhaps must unconventional race to ever take to English Bay is returning this summer.
After a 22-year hiatus, bathtub races, a beloved Vancouver tradition, is returning to local waters.
The event will take place during the 10th annual KitsFest, a sports and healthy living beach festival that runs from Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 12, 2018.
The historic contest originally ran from 1967 to 1996 and featured a race across the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo to Vancouver.
This year, rather than a race across the Strait, more than 20 motorized bathtubs will race over a one-mile course in English Bay, with three divisions and multiple heats.
On the day of the event, there will be seating capacity for up to 1,200 guests with tables, a lounge area, and a bar. Event organizers have also received approval from the city for the sale of alcoholic beverages over the course of the races.
Board approves KitsFest special event permit request for new, all ages bathtub race activity area in Aug, 2018. Unlike historic bathtub races across Straight to Nanaimo, new races would feature 10 -20 motorized tubs on circuit at north end of Kits Beach https://t.co/xKmaG5UGNm pic.twitter.com/GnxyNzp6XG
— Vancouver Park Board (@ParkBoard) November 21, 2017
The return of Bathtub races was approved by the Vancouver Park Board last November and joins festival events like basketball, volleyball, tennis, sunset yoga, and water polo, to name a few.
Bathtub Races at the 10th annual Kitsfest
Where: Kitsilano Beach – Cornwall Ave at the north end of Yew Street, Vancouver
When: Saturday, August 11, 2018
Admission: Free of charge