ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those looking to have a little fun while potentially winning some money will have just that chance in a few weeks.

This year's Duck Race Festival will be Saturday, Sept. 26 at Light Park, with everything beginning at 10 a.m. and the duck race itself starting at 2 p.m., with the day ending at around 2:30 p.m. Ducks will soon be available for adoption at the Chamber of Commerce office and any business with a 'Ducks Sold Here' sign. People can adopt individual ducks for $10 each, or they can adopt a 6-Quack for $50 or a Lucky Pack of 13 ducks for $100.

The total prize money will be $10,000 (1st place = $5,000; 2nd place = $2,000; 3rd place = $1,000; 4th place = $500; 5th place = $400; 6th place = $300; 7th place = $200; 8th place = $100; and Lucky Duck = $500). Chamber of Commerce ambassadors and board members will all have ducks for adoption, so people can get in touch with them if they're interested in having ducks in the race, and ducks will also be available for adoption the day of the event until about 1 p.m. The big duck is also out by 11th Street, and people will be able to adopt ducks there too.

This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the festivities, and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rozelle Webb said she is excited to see how the day turns out.

“The Duck Race Festival is always big, but I think it'll be a bigger crowd this time,” Webb said. “There will be more activities and prizes and more things to do, so I think this year will see a really good turnout. The Duck Race Festival is always a lot of fun – you'll see people you probably haven't seen for a while out there, and I get to visit with people. It’s a great day to bring the kids, the kids have a lot of fun. It's just a good family event.”

Another big attraction will be the United Way Chili and Taco Cookoff from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day, and anyone interested in participating in that would need to call (620) 624-5400 to sign up.

Webb said she hopes many ducks get adopted as part of this year’s event.

“It's always really fun to do, and it's exciting to watch the race and see if your duck wins. It's great seeing everyone lined up by Ducky Downs watching the race and cheering on their duck(s), especially the children,” Webb said. “I would encourage everyone to adopt a duck because we don't want to leave anyone out and as I say with every Duck Race Festival, if you DON'T adopt a duck, you have NO chance of any of the prize money. It's just a fun event to participate in, and I know a bunch of people who are excited every year to see if their duck ultimately swims the fastest toward the finish line.”

With this being the 25th iteration of the big event, Webb said there are some other fun additions people will be able to take part in.

“One of the special things we're going to do is we are going to have a drawing for 25 ducks for the race. There will be a booth for sign-ups for that at the festival, so people can only sign up for that at the festival, and then they have to be at the at the festival when we do the drawing,” Webb said. “The drawing will take place between 12:30 and 1 p.m., and we will draw out 25 names, and those 25 people will win a duck for the race. The thing we're doing is we have we are having an egg-citing duck hunt. We have eggs with some little ducks in them, and we’ll hide between 100 and 200 of those eggs throughout the park. The idea is to give the children something else to do while they’re at the park. We only want them to pick up one egg, and then we'll have a number on it in the shell, and they’ll need to bring that to the sign-up booth and give us the duck they found and their name, and then we will have a drawing with that bunch also some prizes.”

And that will not be the only fun, Webb continued.

“We are this year having the Liberal High School Class of 1986 join us, and they're going to have part of their celebration at the Duck Race Festival with us that weekend,” Webb said. “We will start out the day at 7 a.m. with a 5K run, and people can just come to the park  and sign up to run, and there will be prizes for that. We will have train rides again, and we will have the adult trike races, so we would like for people to come out with their team and join us with that. We will have bounce houses out there from CrossPoint Church, and those are always real nice. There will definitely be a lot for the children to do that day, for sure.”

Webb added vendor sign-ups are being accepted, and she said the Duck Race Festival is a great opportunity for those who participate.

“It's a great chance to get acquainted with people in town and give them a peek at your business. The Duck Race Festival is a great way to let hundreds of people know about what you do, and it's a great way to get all of those people 'through the doors,' so to speak in just one spot,” Webb said. “Or, if you're updating something with your business and would like people to know about that, or if you've got upcoming specials/sales, or if you're looking for employees, having a business booth at the Duck Race Festival is a great way to advertise yourself. It's a great way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time and meet people who aren't customers and get word out about your business and get acquainted with people.”

Webb said she is proud of the Duck Race Festival having reached such a level of notoriety.

“We’re really happy with how it’s grown in all this time, and I love how it’s such a Liberal thing, like Pancake Day,” Webb said. “Several years ago, I went to a chamber convention, and all the chambers in the state were there, and they had a contest for the most unique razor a chamber has, and the Duck Race Festival won it. That tells you how unusual it is and how special it is. We're really proud of our Duck Race Festival, and I’m proud it's lasted 25 years.”

Overall, Webb said, she is looking forward to this year’s Duck Race Festival.

“We're really happy with how much we've grown, and I wouldn't have thought that possible when this event started. We're so happy with Light Park, it's a great space and gives us room to expand in the future if that becomes necessary,” Webb said. “The city crews also keep the park cleaned up and really nice-looking, and I can't say enough for everything they do for us when we set everything up. If you want any chance at all of being one of the winners, get yourself out and adopt a duck, because again, if you don't do that, you can't win. We hope everyone marks their calendars for Sept. 26, because it should be a great day!”