Above / For months, organizers, local businesses, artists and volunteers have been preparing to ignite smiles with “Splashing into Summer” in downtown Naperville. The community is welcome to discover ducks in a row with plenty of puns beginning June 2. (PN Photo)
Twelve days ago when Positively Naperville kicked off the merry month of May, space was saved to showcase June as busting out all over with wonderfully witty waterfowl sculptures, dotting the landscape in the heart of Naperville.
Soon downtown Naperville will be “Splashing into Summer” with its longtime tradition of placing colorful, beautiful and oftentimes whimsical painted sculptures throughout the central business district. In less than a month, visitors will find themselves shopping, dining and sometimes groaning at silly puns among the attractive artistry of 18 painted “just ducky” sculptures, dry docked and on display all summer long.
A map with locations will be available in late May. Watch for information featured at www.downtownnaperville.com, then look for 18 feathered friends once they are completed and installed on Mon., June 2.
Duck Scavenger Hunt runs June 2 thru Aug. 15, 2025
What’s more, other special events will be winging it alongside the Painted Duck Sculptures. Attractive large rubber ducks will be nesting inside various downtown businesses during a Duck Scavenger Hunt being promoted by Michael Kristura at Treasures of Naperville, a toy and game shop at 121 S. Washington Street. The Duck Scavenger Hunt will take place June 2 through Aug. 15.
Kristura is juggling his enthusiasm among his big duck sculpture named “Quacken,” his scavenger hunt rubber duck inside a treasure chest named “The Jolly Rubber” and the tiny duck giveaways he found without a name.
Rubber Duck Race in DuPage River June 6, 2025
Note also a Rubber Duck Race is planned sponsored by the Downtown Naperville Alliance and Castle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Naperville to benefit the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation. With consideration for the safe water level of the DuPage River, the date to flock downtown to catch the Rubber Duck Race is Fri., June 6, 2025. Numbered little rubber duckies in huge nets will be released from the Eagle Street Bridge at 11AM for a race to the finish at the Riverwalk Covered Bridge at Webster Street. Spectators are welcome!
DNA takes a quack with gratitude to duck sponsors
Meanwhile Katie Wood, Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance, expresses gratitude to Duck Sculpture Sponsor Businesses including Busey Bank; Bill and Nancy Mitchell; Caton Commercial; DJK Custom Home Builders; Gail Niermeyer, Jesse McHugh – Coldwell Banker Realty; Expert Level Home Improvement; Gary R. Weber Associates, Inc.; Kelly Law Firm P.C.; Innovative Dental Group; Magnitech; Naperville Yard; Naperville Bank & Trust; Pinot’s Palette; Pure Barre; Turning Point Autism Foundation; Treasures Naperville; Two Maids Cleaning; and The Ville Team – Coldwell Banker Realty.
Additional appreciation was noted to Participating Partners Gerald Auto Group and Fast Signs Naperville.
And folks who serve on the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation, now under the leadership of John Cuff, are grateful to all volunteers assisting behind the scenes to number more than 2,000 rubber ducks as well as the Downtown Naperville Alliance for choosing this year’s theme with ducks “Splashing into Summer.”
Gallery of Photos featuring Ducks
Above / The Gallery of Photos provides a glimpse of several duck sculptures with photos by Pinot’s Palette and Kuhner, and other “work-to-number-ducks” with photos by Positively Naperville.
Buy a Duck! Race a Ten-Buck Duck!
To augment all the painted ducks around town, the Riverwalk Duck Race will return after a five-year hiatus. This year, 2025, folks can help fill the bill by recognizing the first 44 years of the Naperville Riverwalk, a linear park that now runs along the DuPage River from the Jefferson Avenue Bridge to the Hillside Road Bridge. Folks can purchase one for $10, three for $25 or 15 entries for $100 of 2,025 numbered rubber ducks set to “race” in the DuPage River. The race begins at the Eagle Street Bridge near the Naperville Municipal Center and runs all the way to the Riverwalk Covered Bridge at Webster Street.
The race is scheduled to begin at 11AM Fri., June 6, rain or shine, unless the water level is too high. And you don’t have to be present to win.
The good folks at the Naperville Park District who never duck sharing their expert experiences say the race likely will take less than 10 minutes. Park district staff will have nets to catch the first three winners. Again, folks who purchase ducks don’t have to be present to win. And duck numbers only are available for purchase online.
Naperville Riverwalk Foundation member Karen Solomon recalls a bunch of frequently asked questions from other duck race years.
All proceeds will benefit the Naperville 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.
Two recent projects funded by Naperville Riverwalk Foundation
Be sure to watch the Prairie Nature Garden rise and shine again this season, just west of Centennial Beach. A year ago, the garden designed by planners at the Naperville Park District was planted with funds raised by the Foundation. Now in its second year, the area is expected to take three years to fully develop.
In addition, this spring Harmony Park at the top of Rotary Hill along Aurora Avenue has been enhanced with a facelift of new landscaping designed by the Naperville Park District, also funded by the Riverwalk Foundation.
Foundation President John Cuff notes the focus of the organization is to educate as well as create a welcoming and safe experience throughout the Riverwalk while being good stewards of funds raised, mostly via commemorative brick and granite stone sales since 2004.
“Currently,” Cuff said, “several Riverwalk enhancement projects of already-existing areas are in the works, including updated improvements along the river banks near the original entry to the brick path at Main Street, just down from the horse trough fountain.”
Cuff added, “We probably need to do a better job addressing the educational mission of the foundation. Some residents are unaware of the history of the path along the DuPage River in the heart of the City that began in 1981. The Riverwalk truly revitalized our downtown, thanks to the vision of former Mayor Chet Rybicki and businessman Jim Moser… and with the help of generous donors and volunteers. Now it’s up to all of us to appreciate and take care of this linear park.”
Back to selling quackers, say ‘cheese,’ please
Again, duck racers do not have to be present to win. The purchase of ducks (Every duck has a number and all ducks will be returned to the DNA for future races.) is available online only at www.riverwalkduckrace.com.
All Duck Adopters will receive a verification email. Within the email, click the “VIEW FULL RECEIPT” button to gain access to your duck number(s). Important: Write down your duck number(s). Your number(s) will be kept safely until race day, but will not be available or public until then.
• Ducks are $10 each
• Quack Pack – 3 ducks for $25
• Family Flock – 15 ducks for $100
Prizes will be given to 3 duck adopters.
The first duck to finish the race will receive $1,981. (Sept. 7, 1981, is the Labor Day when the Riverwalk was dedicated.) The second duck to finish will receive a $300 Downtown Naperville gift card. The third duck to finish will receive a $150 Downtown Naperville gift card.
Help Keep Wildlife Wild, Healthy & Migrating
Riverwalk caregivers are grateful to the Downtown Naperville Alliance and Riverwalk Duck Race sponsors for the opportunity to heighten awareness about protecting the health of ducks and other wildlife as well as their natural environment. Be happy when waterfowl migrate. The aim of the Duck Race promotion is to enlighten well-meaning friends of the animals that feeding wildlife stale bread and other human snacks is deleterious to ducks, geese and other waterfowl.
Let wildlife be wild! Help keep ducks, geese and all waterfowl healthy. Let ducks find food naturally on their own.
Just recently, two Riverwalk friends observed a male Mallard duck with “angel wing,” a condition that occurs in waterfowl, mostly ducks and geese, when they are overfed or fed unhealthful food, especially stale bread by the loaf. Angel wing is noticeable when the last joint of the wing becomes twisted, causing the wing feathers to point laterally outward.
Numerous sources say the disease doesn’t seem to cause waterfowl any pain; yet, angel wing takes away their ability to fly, making them easy prey to predators. In addition, migration becomes impossible. Since those childhood days when feeding ducks at local ponds and waterfronts was a popular past time, lots has been learned. In fact, throughout the world, signs along the water’s edge blatantly say, “Do not feed the ducks!”
Duck Race Sponsors / Affiliations 2025
This year’s Riverwalk Duck Race is presented by the Downtown Naperville Alliance in partnership with Castle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Naperville. Proceeds will benefit the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation.
Remember! Let wildlife be wild! No matter what pond, river or lake, feeding human snacks and bread crumbs to ducks, geese and other waterfowl is harmful to the health of wildlife and to the environment.
Small sample of Riverwalk Reflections written in 2016
“When I first considered to move to Naperville, my new employer immediately took me to the Riverwalk to show me around. He was as proud as a new parent and for good reasons… it’s just beautiful and full of energy.”
—Geoff Roehll
“To me the Riverwalk is Everything! It’s a place of every season, every reason, everyone, every angle and every time of day and every year. It’s for walking, resting, eating, photos, sightseeing with company, playing with grandkids, greeting friends, music and arts shows. How lucky are we to have it for everything!”
—Jo Lundeen
“I enjoy looking at the river, wildlife, trees and plantings that together bring me a sense of emotional peace. Additional people enjoying the area, and the Carillon ringing, further enhance the Riverwalk’s beauty for me.”
—Dick Galitz
35 Years Young
Community Built.
The crown jewel develops
a lush patina.
Watch water surging
Find sun drenched benches. Making
Memories each time.
Awakening the senses.
Music, bells, ducks and laughter
skim frozen quarries.
Brick pathways adjoin
people and commerce. Vibrant
heart of Naperville.
—Karen Solomon
“On New Year’s Day 1993, I visited Naperville and the Riverwalk with my cousin, Candyce Krumwiede, for the first time. While she shared the city’s sesquicentennial story, downtown’s grand illumination began to glisten. That instant, I caught the spirit of Naperville.”
—Stephanie Penick
“We have so many memories, but the best was when our son chose the Riverwalk to propose to our lovely daughter-in-law. Now, as a result, we continue making new memories with our two granddaughters!”
—Mary Ann and Paul Junkroski
I sit on a bench along the south end of
the Riverwalk at lunchtime.
Eyes closed, ears open
Listening to the river flow
Imagining what this spot must have
been like hundreds of years ago.
—Bob Ross
“We moved to Naperville in 1983. We have Riverwalk memories of REACH duck races, walks with family and friends, prom photos, paddle boat and sled hill rides, carillon concerts and Veterans Day tributes. It is Naperville’s crown jewel!”
—Ron & Marcia Schild
“Envisioned as a heartfelt and homegrown tribute to 150 remarkable years, the Riverwalk became and remains the iconic recreational, environmental and cultural centerpiece of Naperville, a powerful catalyst for it’s extraordinary.”
—Rick Hitchcock
“I grew up in Downers Grove and married (Sally) into Naperville. Napervillians don’t sit around talking, waiting for others to do it. I truly believe that’s why Naperville consistently has been ranked one of the best city’s in which to live and raise a family.”
—John Cuff
Above / Ed Channell (far right next to Rita Harvard in front row) and Glen Ekey (with shovel between Gene Drendel and Peg Price) were chairmen of the Riverwalk 2000 campaign, launched in 1996 to extend the brick path from Washington to Hillside. This photo was taken at the groundbreaking for Rotary Plaza near the old Cock Robin property where Fredenhagen Park was established in 2003. (PN File Photo)
“One of my proudest moments came when Rita Harvard asked me to chair the fundraising campaign for Fredenhagen Park. As she laid out her plan, I raised my hand and said, ‘Rita, I’m still tired from the Riverwalk 2000 fundraiser. Whenever I walk down the street, friends approaching me clutch their wallets or change sides.'”
—Ed Channell
RELATED POSTS & PHOTOS YOU MIGHT ENJOY / RIVERWALK —PN
Update, 2:29PM May 16, 2025 / Thanks to everybody for supporting the Duck Race! So far, 991 rubber ducky numbers have been purchased, bringing the total funds right now to $7,199. That means 1,035 duck numbers remain available for the race set to begin at 11AM on Fri., June 6.
Another FAQ has wondered where the winners will be announced at the race. The end of the race will be at the Riverwalk Covered Bridge at Webster Street. A large sign will be placed on the Dandelion Fountain side of the covered bridge with the winning numbers. Thanks for asking!
