Quack! Here are the prizes for the 33rd annual duck race in Idaho Falls.
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IDAHO FALLS — It’s time to make some noise and quack as loud as you can because a popular event that brings the community together to watch rubber ducks float down the Snake River is back!
The Idaho Falls Rotary Club kicked off the 33rd Great Snake River Greenbelt Duck Race Wednesday and announced this year’s prizes at the Westbank Convention Center in Idaho Falls.
“It’s an exciting time! The duck race takes several months of hard work,” said Elaine Gray, who is part of the Rotary Club.
The prizes were brought in by the Idaho Falls Fire Department with wailing sirens along with the Idaho Falls Police Department.
The grand prize is a 2024 KIA Sportage donated by Stones KIA. The first prize winner will get a 2024 Can-Am Outlander XT 4 Wheeler donated by Idaho Central Credit Union. Click here to check out the other prizes.
This year’s duck race will be on Saturday, Aug. 10. There are festivities that will take place the day before on Aug. 9 with a classic car cruise, a poker run, live music and a free dinner.
This year, Gray said the Rotary Club is trying something new because they want to keep the community aware of the event.
“We have ordered 75 yard signs to promote the duck race and we’ve also got that many posters that we have ordered,” Gray said. “In the past, we have been pretty shy about promoting the Rotary Club. We want to make sure everyone knows what the Idaho Falls Rotary Club does. Our focus is service and bettering our community.”
Here’s how it works with the duck race. The rubber ducks are given numbers, which lets participants adopt a duck for a small amount of money. Thousands of rubber ducks are then dropped into the Snake River for the race. The first duck to float past the finish line is the winner.
This year, there will be even more ducks floating down the river.
“We have increased our number of ducks from 23,000 to 25,000 this year, so we really need the support of the community,” Gray said.
Ducks are available for adoption at $5 a duck or $25 for a “six-quack.” Click here for more information.
“I want to make sure everyone knows that they can adopt their ducks starting right now, today, online, on our website. Ducks can be purchased electronically,” Gray said. “In the coming weeks, we will start setting up Rotary tables at the farmers market and other venues throughout town so that people can adopt their ducks in person.”
Over the past 32 years, the Idaho Falls Rotary Club has raised more than $6.5 million through duck adoptions, with matched funds by the city of Idaho Falls, a news release from the Rotary said.
The release said after event expenses, all of the remaining funds go into making improvements along the River Walk/Greenbelt. For the past eight years, the funds have gone toward the development of the city’s newest park along the River Walk – Heritage Park.
