Duck Race returns to Naperville

Ducks sometimes get a bad rap.

Think about it. Donald's too excitable. Daffy's kind of despicable. Nobody seems to listen to the Aflac guy.

They walk funny, they talk funny and they seem weirdly reluctant to waddle into a pair of pants.

So what in the name of webbed feet is someone like Stephanie Schiszik doing bringing 1,500 of them together in one place. Has she quacked up? We've heard of birds of a feather, but this is ridiculous.

Too many ducks? Schiszik scoffs at the notion, because when her plastic menagerie arrives Saturday, May 14, along the West Branch of the DuPage River in downtown Naperville, it will be raising money for a worthy cause and bringing grins to lots of faces.

Games and prizes

The 22nd annual Naperville Duck Race, featuring 1,500 brightly colored plastic ducks, is sponsored by Naperville Park District and REACH, or Responsible Educated Adolescents Can Help.

The ducks, each with its own number, will be dropped into the river about 1 p.m. along Naperville's Riverwalk near Rotary Hill and then float downstream to the finish line.

You can buy one or more of the ducks for $5 each. If yours crosses the finish line first, you come away with a cool $250 in cash. The second-place duck wins $100, and numerous others will have a chance to win merchandise or gift certificates for their owners.

Schiszik says organizers are hoping this year's event raises between $4,000 and $5,000, all of which will go toward the REACH program in Naperville.

The group, which operates under the auspices of the Camp Fire Illinois Prairie Council, has used a variety of approaches over the past two decades to encourage young people to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

“REACH started as an idea from a high school student who approached one of our staff members,” says Schiszik, who serves as the Camp Fire Council's CEO. “It's a prime example of how Camp Fire operates by encouraging people to come forward with ideas.”

Camp Fire itself started 101 years ago. Originally aimed at girls, it now works with more than 30,000 youngsters from kindergarten through high school in DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendall and western Cook counties.

Schiszik says Camp Fire takes its message directly to students to talk about safety, bullying and peer pressure. It also offers summer day camps, team-building exercises and more.

Its ultimate goal, she says, is to help build youngsters' self-esteem and teach them the value of service and giving.

Middle school students participating in REACH do service projects and participate in educational events. In high school, students participate in the Healthy Choices program, in which they visit elementary schools to perform skits and offer testimonials about the hazards of drugs and alcohol.

“As an adult, we could say exactly the same words, but kids hear it differently from high schoolers,” she says. “I've seen third-graders rush up to them after a program to get their autographs.”

Like many organizations, Camp Fire isn't exactly paddling around in a pond of cash these days, so fundraisers like Saturday's Duck Race take on added importance.

Weather for ducks

Here's the weird thing about the Naperville Duck Race: it's really weather dependent. It's kind of strange when you think about it, because what we sometimes call good weather for ducks is really bad weather for the race.

“Hopefully we'll have sunshine,” Schiszik says, “but it's the one factor we can't control.”

Even if Saturday dawns all bright and sunny, organizers still have to worry about any previous rains that might swell the DuPage River.

The park district has to station people in the water to retrieve the plastic ducks after they glide across the finish line and there are safety concerns if the water gets too high or the current too swift.

If Mother Nature cooperates, festivities will begin at 10 a.m. with a children's “table carnival” that runs for two hours and features small games such as beanbag tosses and Bozo buckets. Each game costs a quarter and lucky kids might be able to walk away with small prizes.

“It's very low-key,” Schiszik says.

This year, 101.9-FM WTMX will be broadcasting from the site and offer some of its own giveaways, too.

At 1 p.m., the 1,500 plastic ducks hit the water and Schiszik says it's her absolutely favorite moment of the whole thing.

“It's got to be seeing those ducks come down the river,” she says. “Anything that makes you smile and giggle.”

Favorite ducks

Once you get past all the good REACH and Camp Fire can do, and once you get beyond the smiles generated by the duck race, only one really crucial question remains for Schiszik.

Who's your favorite duck?

She thinks about this for a moment and then talks about how Camp Fire encourages kids to get outside and experience nature.

With that in mind, she says, she's gotta turn her tail feathers on Donald and Daffy and go with something a little more traditional. You know, like a mallard or maybe a wood duck.

It's hard to argue with that, but it's not exactly the answer you or Elmer Fudd were looking for. How do you tie this whole story together with something like that?

What, after all, do Donald and Daffy have in common with a common mallard?

And then it hits you.

Mallards ... wood ducks ... they don't wear pants either.

If you go

What: 22nd annual Naperville Duck Race

When: Children's “table” carnival from 10 a.m. to noon; duck drop at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 14

Where: Along downtown Riverwalk, near Rotary Hill

Who: Sponsored by Naperville Park District and REACH, or Responsible Educated Adolescents Can Help

Cost: Free, but $5 to sponsor a duck and 25 cents for individual carnival games

Info: napervilleparks.org