24th annual Ducks for Bucks Benefit Race • April 28 2018

24th annual Ducks for Bucks Benefit Race 2018. Photo credit James Sakane / East Bay Times

Help raise funds for the 24th annual Tri-Cities Ducks For Bucks Race benefit, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Fremont.

Date: Saturday, April 28th, 2018
Time: Family games start at 11:00am while the duck racing would start at 1:00pm.
Venue: The boat ramp of Lake Elizabeth at Central Park in Fremont, CA.
Entry Fee: $5 per Duck or 6 Ducks for $25. Entry form required by Friday, April 20, 2018.

The Kiwanis Club of Fremont has been organizing this annual charity rubber duck race since 1995. In 2017, around 7,000 yellow toy ducks were adopted and nearly $16,000 was handed out to participating Tri-City schools and charities. The goal for 2018 is to sell entries for 8,000 rubber ducks.

The Washington Township Museum of Local History (WTMLH) in Fremont, a participating organization, aims to raise funds for their continued archiving work as they make headway on their online photo collection, the Robert Fisher 8x10 photo collection, and much more.

WTMLH will receive $3 out of every $5 for the first 250 ducks they sell, and $4 for every duck after that.

To enter the race, please fill up the WTMLH Ducks4Bucks Entry Form and return it to the museum by Friday, April 20, 2018. Your official entry form with rules and lucky duck number will be mailed to you.

One lucky duck adopter will win the Great Grand Prize of a car of their choice, from any dealer in the Fremont Auto Mall, up to a $30,000 purchase. Other prizes include a Grand Prize of $2,000 cash, a wellness package, and a weekend stay and fine dining package.

On the day of the race, festivities will start at 11:00am and will include a free family carnival with games and prizes, a jump house, and music.

At 1:00 pm, courtesy of Republic Services, a long time sponsor of the race, a dump-truck will release the numbered ducks at the Lake Elizabeth boat launch, into a previously cordoned-off section of the lake.

Using their high-powered fire hoses, the Fremont Fire Department will slowly herd the ducks into the chute passage which narrows to a size where only one duck at a time can enter the trap.

As each duck enters the trap, the number on the bottom of the duck is recorded along with the race placement order. These numbers are radioed back to the boat house where they are entered into the computer and associated with their Race Entry form number which will identify each winner.

Prior to the race, random duck numbers (1 per each 500 ducks entered into the race) are pre-selected as potential winners for the Great Grand Prize (car). This selection is performed by a third party company who is contacted after the first duck enters the trap to validate if it is among the pre-selected numbers.

If the first place winning duck number is among the pre-selected duck numbers, that duck will win the Great Grand Prize. Otherwise, the 1st Place winning duck will receive the Grand Prize of $2,000 and the car will not be awarded. The next 10 winning ducks will receive the prize associated with their placement order in the race (2-11).

Don't forget to fill out and mail your Entry Form today! Every duck you adopt is $5 with a bonus duck for every 5 ducks, so $25 buys 6 ducks in all. Make your tax-deductible check payable to the Washington Township Museum of Local History.

Mail to WTMLH Ducks 4 Bucks, 190 Anza Street, Fremont, CA 94539 by April 20, 2018. Questions? Call (510) 623-7907 or email info@museumoflocalhistory.org.