It was a ducky day in Downtown Naperville as people lined the DuPage River for the annual Riverwalk Duck Race.
“Every year we love the excitement. It probably makes it all worthwhile just seeing the excitement of the kids coming down here. We like to walk between them because just the comments you hear – even [from] the adults,” said Riverwalk Foundation President John Cuff. “It makes it all worthwhile for us right there.”
Vote For Your Favorite
But before the Riverwalk Foundation started the duck race, the public had a chance to decide who was the fairest feathered friend.
While NCTV17’s own “Ziggy Star-Duck” and the DuPage Children’s Museum’s mallard had kids bubbling with excitement, St. Patrick’s Residence’s “nun-duck” won top billing.
The Main Event
Then without feather ado, all 1,640 ducks were let loose into the river, to the delight of onlooking kids.
“I liked when they dumped the ducks at the beginning,” said eight-year-old Mary Boger.
After a short paddle down the river, the winning ducks finally crossed the finish line. The owners of ducks coming in first, second, and third place won $1,981, $500, and $250, respectively.
“We looked at them before they put them into the river and it’s just kind of random,” said Ken Novak, owner of the third-place duck. “I saw a four-digit number and I just thought, ‘maybe!’”
A fun event for the whole family – drakes, hens, and ducklings alike.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
