Tomorrow is The Great Drake Park Duck Race—one of those things that has lodged in my mind as a signature Bend event, like the Pole Pedal Paddle. It’s a neat idea and a great annual fundraiser but it’s always weird seeing tens of thousands of rubber ducks dumping into the river…

Festivities start at 11am and go through the afternoon. I’ve lifted the schedule from their home page:

11:00 am to 4:00 pm – Festivities in park—Music, Food & Activity Booths
12:00 pm – Kids Race (1,000 Ducks)
  2:00 pm – Race Start! (Galveston Bridge)
  2:23 pm – Estimated time winning Ducks begin to cross the 
                    Finish Line (Mirror Pond Foot Bridge)
  3:00 pm – Winners & Awards are announced at staging area in 
                    Drake Park
  4:00 pm – Festivities end

If you’re new to the event, basically what happens is people pay $5 for a rubber duck sponsorship, up to 30,000 ducks are sponsored, and on the big day they’re all dumped in the river at the Galveston bridge and the first ducks to float past the footbridge (no interference allowed) are the winners.

The money generated goes to support a bunch of local causes, and great fun is had by all.