Twelve thousand yellow rubber ducks fell out of the sky Saturday afternoon and into the Deschutes River as part of the Great Deschutes Duck Dash, an annual event in its 22nd year that acts as Lacey Rotary’s largest fundraiser.
The festivities at Tumwater Falls Park started at 11 a.m., but the highlight, the Duck Dash, didn’t start until 4 p.m. By then, several thousand people had gathered and lined the shores of the river to watch the ducks fly through the sky and float down the river. A crane on the Boston Street bridge suspended a large box over the river, then an air horn signaled the start of the race, and the box fell open. Rotarians, armed with fishing nets along the river, retrieved the ducks as they came floating by.
Lacey Rotary International, a service club, raises money by “selling” the ducks for $5. Although not all 12,000 ducks are sold for the race, the club did sell 9,563 this year. The first 15 paid ducks to cross the finish line, which are identified by a number, qualify for prizes.
Lacey Rotary President-elect Bill Hislop said the Duck Dash has expanded over the years. In addition to the race, the event offers food, music and entertainment for children.
“We’ve made it a real family day,” he said. Hislop expected to raise about $55,000 this year.
That money is donated throughout the year to South Sound and international causes, with an emphasis on children and education, he said. This includes the Lacey Boys & Girls Club and the South Sound Reading Foundation, Hislop said.
The Card family of Rainier attended the Duck Dash for the first time and purchased four ducks, one for each family member in attendance, Wayne Card said. They’ve always wanted to come to the Duck Dash, Card said, but they also were inspired this year because his youngest daughter, 21-month-old Johnnie Rose, is such a fan of rubber ducks.
“I think the first words out of her mouth were ‘quack,’” Card said.
The race results were announced about 30 minutes after the start of the face. Although there were 15 winners, only two emerged from the crowd to claim their prize. The 13th-place winner was Angie Ahlf of Lacey, a longtime Duck Dash attendee who won a $100 gift certificate to Brewery City Pizza. Ahlf said her family likely would have pizza for dinner Saturday night.
The seventh-place winner was Ashley Disken of Tenino, who also bought four ducks in honor of her four children, although she came by herself this year, she said. Her prize: A one-night stay for a family of four at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound. Disken said she hasn’t been to the lodge and looks forward to it.
Three sponsorship prizes also were awarded Saturday. The first-place winner was Kluh Jewelers of Lacey, which won 30 minutes of free advertising from a local radio station, Hislop said.
