Great Duck Race provided a 'fun environment for families'

The Great Waco Duck Race was a charity event, helping to raise money for the Imagination Library of Waco. The Waco community was welcomed to join at Indian Spring Park for a day filled with activities.

The event was held on Oct. 8, with over 6,000 ducks being dropped into the Brazos River. Each duck represented an individual who donated money for the event, Shirley Kohlberg, a volunteer for the event said.

“We had a pretty big turnout for our event. Our goal was to drop 5,000 ducks into the raceway, but we were able to surpass our goal and drop over 6,000 ducks,” Kohlberg said. “With this being the first time, the Waco community has done this event, it was very cool to see the community gather together to help raise money for the library.”

The library was able to raise “over $30,000” Kohlberg said. “We’re very proud to be able to help the library out with this money.”

While the main attraction for the event was the duck race, families were able to enjoy the nice activities that the event had. From bounce castles to face painting, there was plenty for children and their families to enjoy.

“It was such a nice environment for the family. I’m so happy that my kids were able to have so much fun here,” Marie Thybulle, Waco resident, said. “I think my favorite thing that was offered had to be the little duck whistles that they were giving to the kids. I know that my children are loving them.”

With all the activities that they had to offer, The Great Waco Duck Race had the Waco fire department there for kids to be able to see their truck and even help with the event.

“After the ducks were dropped into the Brazos, we had the task of helping to push them down the river,” firefighter Seth Long said. “Because the current and wind were not allowing the ducks to flow to the finish line, we had to use our hose in order to make sure we can have some sort of race. Even though it was a little anticlimactic it was still a fun time.”

According to the Great Waco Duck Race website, after the race each duck will be shipped off to the next location for the next race.

“We make sure that at each city we go to we provide the best experience possible for the community,” Kohlberg said. “Without the community and the sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to put on the event. We are looking forward to hopefully coming back next year and raising even more money that this year.”