Around 2,000 yellow, pink, and blue plastic ducks raced in Naperville’s annual Riverwalk Duck Race. Dropping from the pedestrian bridge by the Riverwalk Visitor Center, they floated down the DuPage River all the way to the Eagle Street Bridge.
“Well I like watching all the ducks go by, it’s kind of cool. If you win that would be cool too. And it’s cool to vote with the different ducks and see which ones are going by and just a nice way to spend the morning,” said 10-year-old Cayden Hill, a first-time duck racer.
And while some just enjoyed the fowl play, others took home more than they originally expected from the event.
“Last day before they go back to school I got them out of bed and I said ‘let’s go see this duck race,’” said Greg Mulvey after the race.
Once the race finished, the Mulveys found out their duck came in first place! They netted a prize of $1981, 1981 being the year the Riverwalk was founded. The next two runners up and 10 randomly drawn racers also took home cash prizes.
But the real lucky duck was the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation, who will use the proceeds from the event for enhancements and education on Naperville’s crown jewel.
While NCTV17’s own duck “Gaffer” raced as well, the winner of the costume contest among the rest of the jumbo sponsored ducks was Naperville Responds for Veterans.
Naperville News 17’s Christine Lena reports.
