More than 1,200 people are expected to take to the water Saturday on Flathead Lake as participants in the first Montana Dragon Boat Festival.

Organizers anticipate more than 2,200 spectators will watch the event, either from boats or from land at Flathead Lake Lodge. The forecast for Saturday calls for mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the 80s.

“It’s going to be great. Everyone’s excited and there’s a lot of enthusiasm,” said Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.

Dragon boat racing, a fast-growing sport across the country, involves 46-foot-long Hong Kong-style boats with colorful dragon heads at the bow and tails at the stern. They are powered by teams of 20 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer.

There are 56 teams registered for Saturday’s races, which will be carried out in three-boat heats on a 500-meter course in front of the lodge, with winners advancing to finals.

Races begin at 8:30 a.m., and the championship races start at 4 p.m.

There will be an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. and a breast cancer survivor ceremony at noon. Events wind up with the Flathead Lake Dragon Bash at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. The races are free for spectators.

Unterreiner said there was interest in having more teams but it was not logistically possible.

“We finally had to cut the registration off because we can’t physically get more teams out on the course, “ he said. “It looks like next year we might go to a two-day event.”

This year’s field includes 16 teams coming from Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Nevada, Alberta and British Columbia.

Of the 40 Montana teams, most are from the Flathead Valley area and sponsored by local businesses and organizations.

The event is organized by the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, which teamed up with Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing, a producer of dragon-boat races around the country.

Proceeds from the festival will go to the Save A Sister initiative, a collaboration among Kalispell Regional Healthcare, North Valley Hospital and the Flathead City-County Health Department to promote breast cancer awareness throughout Northwest Montana.

Unterreiner said logistical preparations for the event have been carried out by volunteers and the teams.

“The captains are working hard to get their teams to town, getting them a place to stay. There’s a lot of organization that goes behind each boat,” he said.

“Flathead Lake Lodge is handling food and beverage at the event. It’s a tremendous venue for something like this. We think once these out-of-state teams see this venue, they are going to be even more excited.”

Organizers have estimated that out-of-area participants and spectators will spend around $500,000 in the valley.

“We know people are going to make a day out of it,” Unterreiner said.

Flathead Lake Lodge is located just south of Bigfork and the Montana 35 turnoff for Wayfayers State Park at mile marker 30.5.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.