The third annual Riverwalk Duck Race begins Wednesday morning in Naperville as 2,000 colorful quackers are dumped into the west branch of the DuPage River all at once.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
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.
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'Kid-friendly' duck race turns Naperville Riverwalk into grandstands
Rick and Kim Popernik of Bartlett watch the third annual Riverwalk Duck Race on Wednesday in Naperville, with their son Wyatt, 4, and niece, Amber, 16, of Naperville.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
Duck race spectators line the Riverwalk on Wednesday morning for the third annual event in Naperville to benefit the Riverwalk Foundation.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
Mary Jane Leisten of Busey Bank dresses as a duck Wednesday to celebrate the third annual Riverwalk Duck Race in Naperville.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
Plastic ducks make their way down the west branch of the DuPage River on Wednesday morning for the third annual Riverwalk Duck Race in Naperville. The first three to make it to the finish line at the Eagle Street bridge earned prize money for the people who donated to "adopt" them.
Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com