We've lived here for seven years and every year I heard people talking about going to the Duck Race, but I wasn't sure what that meant. Last year at the weekly Farmer's Market I bought a ticket. The ticket has the number of your duck on it and also gets you a hot dog and soda or drink after the race over at the pool at the park. Quite a few ducks are winners. The first three get the big prizes, but in all I think 40 of the 600 ducks get some sort of prize, many just the $5 back that you paid for the ticket.
This year we had two ducks, number 236 and 275. We were excited because the first duck to go by had a bow tie like 275 and had a three digit number ending in 75. It ended up being duck 175, but it built a good deal of anticipation that we might be the big winner!
Everyone gathers by the creek to watch the ducks float by. Many get stuck in the rocks or by the banks, but no one is supposed to touch them or the water to keep things fair.
The sun made it hard to get a good picture, but the little yellow dots are the ducks as they went by us.
It takes longer than you might think for 600 ducks to make their way down the creek!
Also part of the day is a small walking parade, old fashioned games like sack races and free water ice.
There were no winners for the games, it was just fun. We did not win the duck race this year. Last year we got our $5 back which we turned around and used to buy more hot dogs and drinks at the pool. It is nice to see how much fun kids and adults can have without employing any special technology!
This is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.
It looks like a good day was had by all!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool and looks like a ton of fun!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun day! And what a lot of ducks!!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Snapshot.
That's an awful lot of ducks! My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/qCafm
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ReplyDeleteComputer is playing up again... that's an awful lot of ducks! My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/qCafm
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of ducks! Great pics :)
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures and story. I had never heard of rubber duck races, but my husband has. How fun!!
ReplyDeleteThe duck race sounds like so much fun! They do that near me too, but I've never gone...I really should some year.
ReplyDeleteLove the yellow duckies. That's a great idea to have a race where everyone can participate. We have a cardboard boat regetta in my town... but you have to build your own boat!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like so un for the kids! In our town, we also have a duck race every year as a fundraiser for the high sports program. It's called The Ducky Derby and it's held on a sizable river so no worries about stuck duck syndrome.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like so much fun! The ducks are too sweet!
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots!
Here is my Saturday Snapshot post!
We used to buy a duck in a local race during our college days. We never won anything though. It looks like you had a great time!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great day.
ReplyDeleteI've only read about, and seen pictures of, duck races online. It would be fun to attend one some day. Better luck with getting your $5 back next year. :-)
We have duck races here in May. I have never participated, but they are a big draw!
ReplyDeleteI remember 4ths like that. Looks like a lot of fun!
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