Duck race promotes, preserves Riverwalk in Naperville
The rain held off Wednesday morning and the crowds held on to the sight of 2,000 colorful toy ducks all floating at once in a race down the west branch of the DuPage River in Naperville.
The spectacle was the third annual Riverwalk Duck Race to benefit the Riverwalk Foundation, and it came as Naperville kids enjoyed their last moments of summer before the impending start of school.
Riverwalk stewards during the event encouraged visitors not to feed the live ducks and geese, reminding people that human foods like bread are harmful to waterfowl health.
After the race, Naperville Park District staffers snagged the winning ducks — and their straggler counterparts — from the river and allowed the winning three to be named.
The donor who “adopted” the winning duck received $1,981, to commemorate 1981 as the year Naperville volunteers first started building the Riverwalk, while the second-place duck's adopter got $500 and third place earned $250.