Re-Ducks! Annual Charleston Duck Race on DI to return in new location
Saying “another year, another duck race” is too cynical of a description for the popular event’s 2018 iteration on Daniel Island. For the past 11 years, the family-friendly Charleston Duck Race was held on the Wando River, where 30,000 rubber ducks were poured from the top of the James B. Edwards Bridge into the body of water below like a giddy waterfall. The yellow rubber mass would make its way down the river on the tides, and the first seven adopted ducks to cross the finish line would guarantee their adoptee, or sponsor, a $1000 to $10,000 monetary prize.
All of that is still part of the game plan for the event, which is organized by the Rotary Club of Daniel Island and other participating Rotary Clubs, with one change that ended up affecting most of the logistics behind the evening.
“We are going to hold the race on Smythe Park Lake on Daniel Island this year,” says longtime Rotarian Bill Stevens. “Back last fall, the DOT and the police department told us they would no longer allow us to have a lane closure there because they were worried about traffic.”
The irony of the recent lane closures causing dense traffic in the same area was not lost on Stevens.
“We’d have been planned for June 8th, and as of a few days ago, we’d have been kicked off,” he says. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the Rotary Club had eight months to plan out the new location and how they were going to make it all happen.
“There are a lot of reasons to move away from the bridge,” he continues. “I mean, it was a great photo opp, but then you were dependent on the tides. We could only do it certain times of the day, now we can do it on a Friday evening, combined with a concert in the park.”
As Stevens mentions, the new location has the advantage of adding a concert component to the evening. Live music has been present at the Duck Race in years prior, but this year, it is being offered in conjunction with the Daniel Island Property Owners Association (POA) as part of their “Sounds of Summer” concert series.
“The concert in the park is their event, and they’re allowing us to join them,” says Stevens.
“Our office enjoys those opportunities, where we get to partner with our Daniel Island civic clubs and organizations,” says POA Manager of Community Services Barbara McLaughlin. “The Duck Race is a fun, annual community event that our residents look forward to year after year and we can’t wait to co-host the event.”
One of the other big changes that the new location created was a lack of tides to pull the ducks to the finish line. The solution is equal parts ingenious and comedic. The Rotary Club looked around at other counties in the nation that had similar problems with their duck races and decided to propel the little rubber birds forward with a fire hose, down a predetermined path drawn out by booms. Naturally, the Charleston Fire Department was contracted to help.
“The Charleston Fire Department has always supported worthy causes for the local community and looks forward to the upcoming event in June,” says Interim Fire Chief Joseph Roberts.
As with every Duck Race, charity is the crux of the event. The event has generated more than $1.4 million for a variety of non-profits since it began in 2007. This year, proceeds will go to 30 local beneficiaries that support a series of causes, such as education, health, wellness, and nutrition. Those charities include Camp Happy Days (which provides support to kids diagnosed with cancer and their families), Doors to Freedom (which advocates for survivors of sex trafficking), and Katie’s Krops (a food provider that encourages kids to grow vegetables for the hungry).
When asked about the fundraising aspect of the Duck Race, Stevens provided a document that breaks down the 30 supported charities into three large groups: life caring, life changing, and life saving. On the document there is a series of images showing children eating, taking medicine, and reading.
“There will be some winners of cash prizes, which is great, but the real winners are the people you see there in the pictures and there are thousands of them,” says Stevens. “They won’t be there, but if they were, they’d say ‘thanks.’”
The festivities will kick off on June 8 in Smythe Park at 5 p.m., followed by the start of the race at 6 p.m. The concert begins at 6:30. Prizes will be awarded for the first seven adopted ducks to cross the finish line - $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, and $1000 each for third through seventh place. Ducks may be adopted for $10 each from a Rotarian or on-site the day of the event. For additional information, visit www.charlestonduckrace.com.
WANT TO GO?
12th Annual Charleston Duck Race!
Friday, June 8
Smythe Lake Park
Festivities start – 5 p.m.
Duck Race – 6 p.m.
“Sounds of Summer” Concert featuring Plane Jane – 6:30 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded for the first seven ducks to cross the finish line - $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, and $1000 each for third through seventh place. Ducks may be adopted for a $10 donation from a Rotarian or at the duck race site on the day of the event.
For additional information, visit www.charlestonduckrace.com.