Above / “Why a Duck?” is the question Chico Marx asks repeatedly in a well-known comedy routine from The Cocoanuts (1929). Marx brothers Groucho and Chico are discussing a map, when Groucho mentions the presence of a “viaduct” between the mainland and a peninsula, and the duo take a quack at it over and over. Now you know.
UPDATE, July 28, 2019 / The 2019 Riverwalk Duck Race is slated to begin at 10AM Wed., Aug. 14. Most details about the fourth-annual event are featured below, much the same as last year. Just a different date. Thanks for reading and supporting the Riverwalk with a Five-Buck Duck or four or more. To purchase a plastic numbered duck, click riverwalkduckrace.com.
Original Post, Aug. 11, 2018 / Produced by the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation and presented by Busey Bank, the 3rd Annual Riverwalk Duck Race is slated to begin at 10AM Wed., Aug. 15, rain or shine, to create awareness about the care and maintenance of the Riverwalk with two different sizes of toy ducks.
Two new fun features of the big float from the footbridge near Centennial Park to the Eagle Street Bridge have attracted attention this year.
First, the inaugural so-called “Creative Costume Contest” will feature more than 20 jumbo rubber ducks decked out in themes to represent local businesses, nonprofit agencies and individuals. Naperville Responds for Veterans, 360 Youth Services, DuPage PADS, NCTV17, Project HELP, Little Friends, Naperville Area Humane Society, Brightside Theater, Bridge Communities and Loaves & Fishes Community Services are among 10 nonprofit jumbo ducks sponsored by Busey, ready to compete with all the others in outstanding outfits that distinguish them.
Second, folks who enter the race with 2,000 plastic ducks have a chance to put their duck bucks toward one of six teams currently entered.
According to race chairman John Cuff, at the moment, the team to catch is Positively Naperville. In second place, Oak Hill Builders & Developers N is just ahead of third place Rebecca L. Close in pursuit, fourth place is shared by three teams: Ray & Anthony, Winnie Pot P. and Bertha Novaczyk.
“I didn’t enter ‘Ray & Anthony’ as a team,” said Ray Kinney, of Minuteman Press, Maclyn and Blooming Color. “But I have a good hunch who did.” Kinney also noted the creative staff at Blooming Color is decorating a jumbo duck that’s sure to stand out in the other competition.
Time is still available to support an existing team or to enter as another team at www.riverwalkduckrace.com. Duck racers are available for $5 each and in a variety of packages for a chance to win $1,981 (representing the year the Riverwalk was dedicated) and other cash prizes. Jumbo ducks are $100 each.
For the fun of it, competitions will pit contestants against each other for friendly “bragging rights” and photo opportunities as the Riverwalk Foundation again aims to educate about protecting and enjoying river wildlife everywhere in the world. Let wildlife find their own food in nature.
‘Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.’ —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Can-do volunteer spirit built the Riverwalk
The entertaining and quick morning event aims to create awareness about the volunteer spirit that has imagined the private/public partnership and built the Riverwalk since its inception to commemorate the City’s sesquicentennial in 1981. The Riverwalk was dedicated on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 1981.
The event also is a time to highlight some lessons learned since the city’s pride and joy along the DuPage River began to grow brick by brick into a beautiful gathering place for friends and family. The natural treasure also has attracted native wildlife perfectly capable of finding its own food in the river and along its banks. Ducks, geese, great blue heron, double-crested commodore are four of the waterfowl most commonly spotted.
‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ —Benjamin Franklin
Let wildlife be wild
Some visitors along the Riverwalk think they are doing the ducks, geese and other wildlife a favor by feeding them bread and other human snacks. Thirty-seven years have come with education. Fact is, feeding waterfowl human food creates health problems, overcrowding and aggressive behavior for the wildlife and disrupts their natural habitat.
Ducks and geese are the two that make the most messes along the winding brick path. Goose droppings, in particular, are known to carry unhealthy parasites that can infect humans. Constant clean-up costs Naperville Park District maintenance crews time and taxpayers money.
Signs placed along shorelines of the Riverwalk and throughout the nation remind folks “Don’t feed the ducks.” International awareness started long before the signs were set in Naperville.
‘All good things are wild and free.’ —Henry David Thoreau
Engaging & enjoyable education
To participate in the Riverwalk Duck Race, simply visit www.riverwalkduckrace.com. You don’t have to be present to win.
Watch for the Big Frog, a costumed character representing Riverwalk Duck Race sponsor Big Frog T-shirts & More of Naperville.
Big Frog will be jumping around handing out bookmarks that explain why it’s important to protect and enjoy the river wildlife without feeding them.
Duck numbers are available for adoption until 11:59PM Tues., Aug. 14, or until all 2,000 numbers are sold.
For more information about the Riverwalk Foundation, visit www.napervilleriverwalkfoundation.org.
‘If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.’ — Epictetus
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Last Updated July 28, 2019
