Are you from Cincinnati? Have you ever heard of the Rubber Duck Regatta? I hadn’t until this year. While driving up I-71 North a few nights ago I look up at one of the office buildings on the west side of the highway and notice something different. I see the largest, yellow, inflatable duck EVER! This duck is the ultimate ducky… I am scared to think what our orange friend Ernie would do if he ever laid eyes on this duck.
You remember Ernie, right? He’s the little orange guy from the shorts of ‘Bert & Ernie’ from Sesame Street? Of course you do. Ernie is the one who sang ‘Rubber ducky, you’re the one… you make bath times so much fun!…’ Everyone knows and loves the song.
Anyway… I saw the big duck on top of an office building, and also received a number of emails at work about purchasing ducks. So my roommate, Sean, and I decided to go ahead and purchase some.
Before I get too much further I guess I should probably explain what the Rubber Duck Regatta is, to those unfortunate enough to be out of the Cincinnati area this time of year. The Rubber Duck Regatta is a fundraiser for the Free store Food bank. 100% of the money raised from the Rubber Duck Regatta goes to feeding the hungry. The ducks cost one for $5, or six for $25 (Sean and I now have six lucky ducks!). On Sunday, September 2nd at 2pm, all the ducks will be released over the side of the Purple People Bridge for the race of their lives. The first duck to cross the finish line gets a brand new, 2007 Honda Civic! I think the next 4 or 5 ducks to cross each get $1,000. Not too bad… unfortunately for my chances (but fortunately for the free store food bank) there are thousands of ducks that will race.
There is also one National City Million Dollar Duck that will race. I think the duck is randomly selected for a random person that has a duck. And if that person is one lucky duck (yes, they have beat that pun into the ground)… they get $1,000,000. But don’t get your hopes up, first you have to be lucky enough to be selected… then you have to be lucky enough to win… yes, I know, I’m not holding my breath.
Overall this seems like it will be a fun and entertaining way to help some people out. I enjoy running races that give proceeds to charities, but this is something different that will be fun as well.
If you are interested, I am sure they won’t limit your participation to living in the Cincinnati area, you can order online, or by phone I believe… here’s some info below.
http://www.rubberduckregatta.org
Phone: 513.929.DUCK (3825)
http://www.freestorefoodbank.org
Have a good weekend! I’ll be out on the lake tomorrow with my Dad, time for nice long morning fishing!