In the quiet of race-day morning, when the waters are still and the tents are still sleepy, Carol Mutton finds her inspiration.
“It’s that moment, again and again, that reignites my commitment,” says the long-time paddler and festival organizer. Mutton is one of the originals — having been part of the organizing team right from the day the first ad ran in the local newspaper in the fall of 1999.
“Lots has happened since then,” Mutton laughs, looking at her co-chair this year, Michelle Thornton, who is preparing to take the festival torch from Mutton.
Both women are breast cancer survivors, and both chose to take up the cause of breast cancer awareness as a way to make a difference for others. They also both hoped it would help them channel their personal thoughts about breast cancer into a positive community effort.
Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival is the brainchild and administrative responsibility of host organization Survivors Abreast. Like Mutton and Thornton, the festival and organization are linked by one overall goal — to create awareness, inspire hope, and raise money to help those diagnosed with breast cancer.
Survivors Abreast does that by enthusiastically paddling in the Peterborough festival, as well as several other races each year. The festival does it by drawing together the community in support of breast cancer awareness and by raising funds for the latest diagnostic and treatment equipment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Breast Assessment Centre.
Two for one: an impassioned team of 42 paddlers, each of whom owns at least one piece of the complicated puzzle that makes up the June 10th race day.
“We have an amazing team,” Thornton says.
From volunteer recruiters to volunteer co-ordinators, to those managing pre- and post- festival responsibilities (such as team recruitment, food services, financial details, and more), the Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival co-chairs agree there’s really just one thing that makes it all possible.
“Great leadership,” Mutton says.
From the start, she says the coaches have been key to inspiring the women of Survivors Abreast. In fact, it was the team’s first coach — experienced dragon-boater Len Minty — who stirred the team to launch the festival in 2001.
“They’re our teachers, our leaders,” Mutton explains. “They’re at our practices to guide us, they’re at our races to encourage us, and they’re there afterward to inspire us to do it all over again. That’s why the festival is such a success.”
Because, she adds, you can’t separate the spirit that is in the boat from the heart of the festival.
“They’re one and the same, really,” she says. “The festival is run by a committee of community volunteers and Survivors Abreast members but, really, it’s the spirit of our paddlers that pumps through the festival.”
Which brings it all back to race day. Before the participants arrive, before spectators line the shores, Mutton and Thornton will meet to take a deep breath of the morning and savour the moment.
“You’ll feel it when you arrive there at dawn,” Mutton tells Thornton. “There’s so much hope and promise waiting to unfold.”
