Comox Nautical Days Festival's
54th Annual Celebration!

Captain Cracker hopes you'll join him at Comox Marina Park to celebrate Nautical Days 54th Annual Festival Celebration!

This year's Nautical Days will feature favorite Nautical events like the Bullhead Derby, Canoe Jousting, Dragon Boat Racing and the Build, Bail & Sail Race, as well as an exciting lineup of entertainment on the main stage, and fun kid's activities.

The action kicks off Saturday morning with the 25^th Annual Bullhead Derby, the largest catch-and-release fishing derby in the Pacific Northwest.  Last year's derby drew nearly 500 young and young-at-heart participants angling for top honours in categories ranging from largest fish to strangest catch. Participants supply their fishing pole and barbless hooks and bait; Nautical Days provides the jovial spirit of friendly competition.

On the same morning kids of all ages, whether anglers or not, will enjoy Captain Cracker's Kids Festival. This is always a blast for the young'uns, with games, races, crafts, clowns, pet parade, face painting, kid's rides and more smiles than a grade school yearbook.

Saturday afternoon, Canoe Jousting is back. Remember King Arthur's Court? 2-person teams - a paddler and a “jouster” - combine agility, balance, teamwork, speed and striking power to stay afloat.  Registration is just before the event.

The much-anticipated Dragon Boat Races is a huge hit with all Nautical Days goers.  Watch the impressive boats glide through the waves while the deep beat of the drums keep time for the paddlers.  Teams from across Vancouver Island and the lower mainland will be competing, so come out and cheer for your favorites!

The Build, Bail & Sail will take centre stage at the marina ramp on B.C. Day Monday.  More than a dozen two-man teams will try to craft any sort of sea-faring vessel with the meagre materials and hand tools at their disposal, and then race them around the Comox Marina entrance.  We've seen all sorts of wild and wacky creations in the past, and plenty of dramatic “shipwrecks”.  The hilarity is always intense in this competition where simply staying afloat often wins the race. 

An animated weekend of fun in the sun concludes Monday night with the cadets & staff of HMCS Quadra presenting the Sunset Ceremony of the Flags, whose history and traditions go back several hundred years; and Quality Foods Spectacular Festival of Lights, the biggest fireworks display on Vancouver Island.

Also returning will be the King – or at least the next best thing.  Elvis is in the house! Elvis impersonator Steve Elliott performs the “Gospel of Elvis Sunday afternoon, Elvis's Family Show Monday afternoon and “Viva Las Vegas” Monday evening as part of Nautical Days Finale. The shows are definitely crowd favorites, soliciting more than a few screams of delight from wooing women!

If you need more excuses to check out this year's Nautical Days celebration, here are several: a car show, bistro-style beer gardens each day, the longest-running foot race in BC and an interdenominational church service that last year attracted more than 1,000 worshippers!

How about more than 100 artisan and craft booths where you can find all sorts unique, locally crafted works of art?  Or over a dozen food booths to keep your tank topped off throughout the weekend?  Nautical Days Festival-goers can start each day with a pancake breakfast, enjoy upbeat stage entertainment every afternoon and grove the night away at Captain Cracker's Family Dance, featuring hot acts such as local rockers XLR8, and Nova Fire Spinning Troupe.

As you can see, there's a little something for everybody at Nautical Days.  If you're one of the regulars who have been enjoying the Comox Nautical Days Festival for years, you're going to be pleasantly surprised by this year's schedule of events.  If you've never before experienced the fun and excitement of Nautical Days, there's no better time to start than this year!