13 lucky ducks win prizes at Riverwalk Duck Race

Above / Riverwalk Duck Race sponsor Mary Jane Leisten from First Community Financial Bank, center, joined several members of the Riverwalk Foundation after the event just for the fun of it.

From the buzz heard among attending members of the Riverwalk Foundation and the Riverwalk Commission after the 2016 Riverwalk Duck Race, support, enthusiasm and comments from spectators that showed up along the DuPage River on Aug. 16 to watch 1,445 plastic ducks float from the footbridge to the Eagle Street Bridge were appreciated.

By the numbers, since the first day of summer when www.riverwalkduckrace.com went live online, 169 supporters adopted 1,445 of 2,000 available ducks for a total of $6,865.

“Thank you so much for this morning!,” emailed Naperville resident Mary Ann Junkroski, who attended the race with her husband and two grandchildren. The Junkroskis had adopted two ducks. “We had a lot of fun with the girls watching the ducks!”

Photo Gallery / 2016 Riverwalk Duck Race

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Early Tuesday morning, representatives of the Riverwalk Foundation, First Community Financial Bank and Alive Center arrived under glorious sunshine to set the stage for the Riverwalk Duck Race. Gary Leavenworth served to draw random numbers for the 10 Lucky Ducks that won $35 each, a dollar amount that represents one dollar for each year since the Riverwalk was dedicated in 1981.

Chuck Papanos, Riverwalk Operations Manager for the Naperville Park District, and his crew already had completed a test run of several ducks to be sure the water current would carry the ducks to their destination without a hitch. All systems were ready and set to go, Papanos said.

At 10AM, the carillon bells sounded the time. During the brief interlude before the big Joe Naper bell gonged ten times, Pete Ellman played Reveille from the banks of the DuPage River just under the footbridge while a large group of families and photographers anticipated the duck drop from a huge net.

Then Riverwalk Foundation members and teens from the Alive Center spilled the blue, pink and yellow numbered ducks over the railing of the footbridge and they hit the rushing waters, never turning back.

What a bunch of happy sounds and cheers from a crowd of hundreds along the low flow walks and pavilion overlook as the ducks floated into the wire fence near the Eagle Street Bridge!

Within ten minutes, the race was over and the three winning numbers were announced. Winners did not need to be in attendance to win. Checks will be mailed by Riverwalk Foundation Treasurer Arleen Bankemper.

First Place / $1,981  #324  Paula Crow

Second Place / $500  # 866  Sherry Fust (Was present!)

Third Place / $250 # 288  Tami Kidd-Brown

Lucky Duck Random Drawing by Gary Leavenworth / $35 Prize per Number

Thanks for another Riverwalk memory!

Special thanks to sponsors First Community Financial Bank and Joe Haselhorst, D.D.S. Foundation members also expressed gratitude to all the teen volunteers from the Alive Center.

The purpose of the race was to launch a yearlong celebration to mark the 35th year of the Riverwalk with “teaching moments” of how the linear park came to be such a prized community asset. The race also served to heighten awareness about the woes of feeding human food— or any food, for that matter— to wildlife along the Riverwalk and throughout the world.

“Let wildlife stay wild.” Waterfowl and other animals will find nutritious food naturally.

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Oswego for renting 2,000 ducks to the foundation for the race.

Thanks also to local media, including the Daily Herald, Naperville Sun, Naperville Magazine, WCKG-1530AM and NCTV17, that covered this event.

All proceeds will benefit the Riverwalk Foundation for education and enhancements along the winding brick path of the city’s natural treasure in the heart of the central business district, just steps from shopping and dining.

Share 35 words for 35 years!

Meanwhile, consider writing a 35-word reflection about the first 35 years of the Naperville Riverwalk. The Riverwalk Foundation will be celebrating this milestone in simple ways throughout the year.

For the record, the first phase of the Riverwalk from Main Street to Eagle Street was dedicated on September 7, 1981. The story of the volunteerism and community spirit that began the development of the Riverwalk as a gift to future generations to mark the city’s sesquicentennial is one to be shared time and time again.

Send 35 words (One-letter and two-letter words don’t count. Click here for more into.) to stephanie@positivelynaperville.com with “Riverwalk Memory” in the subject line.

Editor’s Note / From Jaycees Last Fling to the Riverwalk Fine Art Fair to the Judd-A-Thon in September to all the other outdoor fundraising events that find a home along the Riverwalk, it doesn’t take long to tally millions of dollars raised for good causes over the past 35 years. As the centerpiece for community events, concerts, walks and peaceful reflection, the Riverwalk is a natural treasure from the Jefferson Avenue Bridge to Fredenhagen Park at the Washington Street Bridge to the Hillside Road Bridge.

Plus, the Riverwalk leads to Naper Settlement, Nichols Library, North Central College, Naperville Municipal Center, Century Walk art and many other amenities in downtown Naperville.

Thanks to all who care and support the Riverwalk! Celebrate its dedication day every year on September 7.

FYI: For full disclosure, your PN editor has been involved with Riverwalk fundraising campaigns since 1996. She currently serves on the Riverwalk Foundation and is the foundation’s representative on the Riverwalk Commission.

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