Ivan Patzaichin's name is returning to where it suits him best: namely in a sports competition – the Ivan Patzaichin International Canoe Marathon, an event dedicated to kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddle enthusiasts, which will take place on the Tulcea – Mila 23 route , between May 23-25. Registration will start on February 25.
This year, the Association founded by Ivan Patzaichin together with his partner, architect Teodor Frolu, celebrates 15 years of activity. Through its projects, the Association supports local development by protecting biodiversity and promoting outdoor sports, the creative valorization of natural and cultural heritage, the democratization of access to water, ecotourism, education for sustainability, responsible tourism, community building and innovation in the Danube Delta.
" With his vertical and intense way of being, Ivan has marked many lives. He has touched us, his team since 2010, so deeply that everything we do today is under the sign of the discussions we had with him while preparing the projects initiated by the Association. After a decade and a half of activity, we continue to hear his voice and this gives us confidence that what we are building follows the lines of force that he left us as a legacy. Thank you, Ivan !" said Teodor Frolu, vice-president of AIP - Mila 23.
List of events organized in 2025
- Ivan Patzaichin International Canoe Marathon (MIIP)
The event will take place between May 23-25, marking the opening of the tourist season in the Delta. The competition will take place on the "Ivan's Delta" ecotourism route, recently approved by the ARBDD, which connects the Ivan Patzaichin Memorial in Tulcea to the Ivan Patzaichin Museum in Mila 23. The 45 km route can be completed either in a single day (Elite category) or in two days (Loisir category), offering an accessible experience for both performance athletes and nature and adventure enthusiasts. Registration will open on February 25.
The rowing marathon is not only a sports competition, but also a sustainable tourism model that combines environmental protection, ecological education, the valorization of natural and cultural heritage and the development of innovative infrastructures. The innovative character comes from the arrangement of the two overnight stops on the Ivan's Delta route, harmoniously integrated into nature, using natural materials and autonomous energy systems and from the development of a digital application for guiding and monitoring the routes.
The canoe marathon is a unique experience through which we carry forward my father's vision of sport as a means of connecting people and water. We want this event to become a tradition and bring together as many nature lovers as possible, but especially lovers of the Danube Delta., declared Ivona Potzaichin-Rusu, president of AIP-Mila 23.
- Girls' Perch Contest at Mila 23 – women's perch fishing competition – June 21 (Mila 23)
On June 21, at Mila 23, the 5th edition of the Girls' Bibaniade, a women's perch fishing contest, will take place, the first competition of its kind in Romania.
Inspired by the tradition of the village of Mila 23, where, every year in June, after the end of the prohibition period, the women of the village go out fishing for perch, the competition brings together participants from all over the country, who team up with an experienced local woman.
The event combines tourism based on recreational fishing with local gastronomy and customs, traditional music and the idea of slow tourism. The event will be complemented by educational workshops for children, creative workshops for the general public and a fair of Local Gastronomic Points.
- Discover Rowmania – a series of mini water festivals, which take place in several cities in the country, between May and September, and which consist of speed rowing competitions in 10+1 rowing boats.
The events aim to bring people closer to nature and reconnect them to it, through non-formal education, greening and outdoor sports activities and by engaging the community in an exercise of valuing and protecting the water that crosses their locality. Each year, the tournament ends with the national final, held during the Ivan Patzaichin Festival – RowmaniaFEST, in Tulcea, where the winners of the local stages are invited to participate in the last phase of the competition.
- Local Gastronomic Points Fair (PGL) at the Astra Museum – July (Sibiu)
Event organized together with the ASTRA Museum, to promote and consolidate the national network of Local Gastronomic Points (concept proposed and materialized by the Ivan Patzaichin Association – Mila 23).
The event is part of a larger project, which aims at the potential of gastronomy as a cultural factor to enhance tourism and the network of PGLs to become vectors for valorizing Romanian cultural heritage and the importance of the culinary act as a culture shaper and preserver of local tradition.
- "Ivan Patzaichin" Festival – RowmaniaFEST – August 29 – 31 (Tulcea) / Ivan's Delta Caravan – August 31 – September 2 (Tulcea – Mila 23)
A major event, this year reaching its 14th edition, promotes the city of Tulcea as a tourist destination, attracting a large audience every year for a weekend as big as a vacation, with many activities: canoeing competitions, workshops for children, outdoor film screenings, exhibitions, local gastronomy, debates on topics relevant to Tulcea and the Delta, and rock'n'row concerts.
- Ivan Patzaichin Museum – Community Innovation Center (Mila 23) – ongoing
In 2025, the museum team expands the activities associated with the directions it pursues: promoting heritage education through the use of new technologies; stimulating ecotourism, cultural and slow tourism; supporting the sustainable development of local communities by capitalizing on resources and heritage elements and organizing creative residencies.
In 2025, MIP-CIC continues its partnership with the Orange Foundation to bring new educational and digital opportunities for development to the Delta communities through the Orange Digital Center, hosted by the Mila 23 museum. The initiatives include SuperCoders – programming and robotics for children, as well as workshops dedicated to adults, designed to support them in acquiring essential digital skills. In addition, through Digitaliada, a program dedicated to teachers, they will be able to use, together with students, modern online learning tools and technologies. At the same time, together with Orange Romania , it continues its involvement in 5G – Connect Danube Delta, a major initiative that supports the sustainable development of the Delta through access to infrastructure and new technologies.
Another essential involvement in the success of MIP-CIC was that of Banca Comerciala Române (BCR), this is reflected both in the significant financial contribution to the construction of the museum and the spaces dedicated to the community innovation center, as well as in the support given to educational programs.
7. The Eco-Monographs Project – by and for children (October 2024 – November 2025) is an educational project that brings together students from six localities of the Danube Delta – CA Rosetti, Chilia Veche, Crișan, Sulina, Sfântu Gheorghe and Sarichioi. The children will create subjective eco-monographs of their own localities, which will help them better understand their natural and cultural heritage, and form responsible behaviors towards the environment and the community.
