Duck.. duck.. duck.. Goose!

   Thousands of yellow, sunglass wearing, rubber ducks filled the water and raced toward the finish line. Many gathered on September 2nd to see the abundance of cute waterbirds float across the finish line to victory at the lazy pool of the Dry Town Water Park in Palmdale. This exhilarating and entertaining event is an annual occurrence. This year marked the 11th anniversary of rubber ducky racing.

   Over 7,000 ducks out of the 10,000 goal were sold this year for $5 each, raising about $35,000 in total. The money was given to the Kiwanis Club (the host of this event), the South Antelope Valley Education Foundation, and other youth programs. These programs strive to help and improve communities and advocate education accessibility to the youth.

   The Kiwanis Club is an international educational service and commercial ethics club that was founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1915, and it has over 8,000 members throughout the nation.

   Residents, rubber duck enthusiasts, education supporters, and other participants were eager to find out the first place winner, whether or not someone would win the grand prize of a million dollars. In order to win the grand prize, 1 random duck out of every 3,000 sold would be tagged as the “Million Dollar Duck.” If that yellow feathered racer crosses the finish line first, the adopter would win the grand prize. Unfortunately, nobody won the million dollars this year. Regardless, spectators enjoyed the unusual spectacle.

   This year’s third place winner was Dori Petersen, who won a $500 gift card to Walmart. Delina Jose, the second place winner, won a $700 voucher to Lowe’s. Finally, Arlene Christie luckily finished first and won a $1,000 gift card to Sam’s Club. The first through twelfth place winners all get prizes of vouchers of varying amounts. The other rewards include gift cards to the Antelope Valley Mall, Cinemark, Mulligans, Best Buy, Subway, and so much more.

   It was truly a sight to see for all those who had attended. The herd of yellow rubber birds is definitely not a spectacle to forget. Those who are interested may enter next year’s race by adopting a duck for $5 on the Kiwanis International Duck Race website for the chance to win gift cards and a million dollars. Join the race and help your community! Hopefully, the ducks will not “quack” under pressure.