By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
If you’ve seen the ducks floating on Lake Gregory these last couple of weeks and wondered what they are all about, they are there to remind everyone of the upcoming Duck Derby on March 30. The race is like a horse race but using little plastic duckies that rush down a plastic chute to the lake to cross the finish line. The fastest duck wins its adopter some cash. Besides being fun, it is for a good cause, raising funds to help finance Jamboree Days in July.
The annual Duck Derby and Easter egg hunt on March 30 has something for everyone. From 10 a.m. to noon the various egg hunts will occur. That afternoon, the Duck Derby will take place at 1 p.m., and everything be over by 2 p.m. The Duck Derby is the first fundraiser of the year for Crestline’s Jamboree Days’ parade, all day concerts, vendors and other events, plus the fireworks show that will be shot over Lake Gregory at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 6.
The Easter egg hunt on the south shore of Lake Gregory will have 10,000 eggs for children up to age 12 to find. The plastic eggs are prefilled with candy, so there are no rotten eggs. For dozens of years, hundreds of kids have come to the egg hunt to find the colorful eggs filled with candy. These are different areas manned by volunteers to help the kids find the eggs.
There will be two different hunt areas for different age groups. The egg hunts will occur at 10:30 a.m. for those 9 to 12 years of age, at 11:15 a.m. for those 6 to 8 and at noon for those 5 and under. It is suggested that the kids bring a small basket or pail to put the eggs in as they find them.
There will also be food vendors, Duck Derby games being run by local nonprofit groups, face painting and, of course, the opportunity to take a selfie-photo with the Easter Bunny that morning, beginning at 10 a.m.
In the afternoon, the Duck Derby will take place at 1 p.m. A whole new race track is being designed this year for the ducks. The duck race will use a slightly different chute location and layout for the race track leading to the lake this year. This will enable more “duck adopters” to be able to cheer their little rubber ducky on to victory at a closer range. This may also hopefully result in fewer people getting sprayed by the fire hose water which is used to encourage the ducks to swim faster down the chute. This year, it is hoped by the chamber organizers that each spectator gets a great view of the finish line out in the lake.
The idea of the Duck Derby has been around for years, and for several years was run down the waterslide, but the gate at the bottom of the chute wasn’t large enough to allow all the ducks to get to the lake. This newer method of a special racetrack down the side of the lakeshore allows for more ducks to reach the lake and for the adopters to cheer their duck to victory. Last year also most every duck got into the lake water. This is important since the person who adopts the duck with the number that crosses the finish line in the lake first gets the first-place prize.
Ducks are sold in sequential numbers, on the website. The prizes this year are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, $250 for third place and $100 for the “Lame Duck,” which is the duck that comes in last, or gets lost on the way to the lake, despite encouragement from the firehose and brooms along the way.
Very different this year will be the way tickets are sold. The Crestline Chamber this year is selling their “adoption” tickets to the ducks, which are $5 each, online at www.crestlinechamber.org/duckderby or click on the QR code on the poster all around town. For those who want to buy more than one duck ticket, purchasers can “adopt” five ducks for the discount price of only $20.
“It will be easier for residents and visitors to purchase tickets online, as in the past some expressed they could not find a ticket seller to get a Duck Derby ticket. Plus, by purchasing online, tickets may be charged instead of just using cash,” said Duck Derby coordinator Jenna Rose. This online system of ticket sales has worked well for the Corks & Hops events in past years, so this should run smoothly. On the day of the race, they will be selling tickets for cash up to an hour before the race begins. There will be free parking for the event at the lake’s south parking lot.
For more information about the Duck Derby, just call the Crestline Chamber office during office hours, (909) 338-2706 on weekdays, visit their website, CrestlineChamber.org, or stop in at the chamber office on the north shore of Lake Gregory at 24385 Lake Drive, Crestline from 10 to 2 p.m. weekdays.
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