CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s been 16 years but a Charleston Labor Day weekend event is back.
The Great Rubber Duck Race begins around noon on Saturday when around 6,000 rubber ducks will be dropped from the South Side Bridge and race to the shores to benefit the United Way. Since the return of the event was announced in April, the United Way of Central West Virginia sold the ducks for $5 each with proceeds going to the organization.
“6,000 ducks in the river, lots of help corraling them over to the levee. First duck in wins $4,000, second place duck is $1,000, third place in $500, and there are other prizes after that,” Margaret O’Neal, president of the United Way of Central West Virginia said on 580-WCHS this week.
Each duck will be assigned a number online and each duck has a chip. O’Neal said there may even be a prize for the last place. She said the Charleston Fire Department will be out on the river on Saturday with fireboats and hoses to help any ducks that are stuck.
O’Neal expects a fast race due to the river level being up due to the remnants of Ida.
The event stopped in 2005 and had been a signature event of the city’s crown-jewel Regatta Festival.
“It’s been 16 years since it happened. A lot of people remember coming down to see it, buying a duck or their parents getting them a duck. It’s been a really good time,” she said.
Additional information about The Great Rubber Duck Race, sponsored by West Virginia American Water, can be found at www.duckrace.com/charleston.