Duck Race returns to Daniel Island in unprecedented form

All duck races look alike, right? Wrong. Surely not the 15th annual Charleston Duck Race set for Saturday, June 5.
 
The charity race established by the Rotary Club of Daniel Island in 2007 has had more moments in the sun than the shade. Since the race’s inception, the event has raised more than $1.8 million for Lowcountry charities and Rotary projects worldwide.
 
This year, the race will be supporting area nonprofits and Rotary service projects focused on health and wellness, hunger and nutrition, housing and shelter, children and families, education and literacy, and those helping during the pandemic. Some of the designated beneficiaries from this fundraiser will be East Cooper Community Outreach, East Cooper Meals on Wheels, HALOS Summer Camp, SHIFA Clinic, and grants to local students who support altruistic values in their local communities.
 
New this year is a scholarship fund called “Service Above Self.” It’s more than the Rotary motto — it’s a way of life that should be fostered and grown from childhood. 
 
The DI Rotary will provide small funding grants to local students to proactively encourage them to develop and implement their own service projects to help community needs. A total of $5,000 will be given as small grants ($100-$500 each) to students of local high schools to defray costs associated with service projects that serve the Daniel Island, Cainhoy, Huger and Wando communities.
 
The goal will be to break the $2 million milestone. Collectively, that would mean for all nine local Rotary clubs involved to raise $250,000. 
 
The DI Rotary’s public relations director Beth Lee noted so far $80,000 has been raised. With less than two weeks to go they are just a little more than one-third of the way there.
 
Lee described fundraising during the age of COVID-19 as “hit or miss.”
 
In 2020, the Duck Race was canceled as a safeguard against COVID-19. The DI Rotary was still able to raise approximately $105,000.
 
“We are still trying to walk the protocols of COVID. Every day is a different day,” Lee said.
 
Although the race has had good fortune on paper over the past decade, the lingering presence of the global health pandemic has made it difficult for the event to make its usual splash. Now it’s returned, but the thousands of rubber ducks won’t quite be back in
their natural habitat.     
 
With previous restrictions on large gatherings and continued difficulties in permitting, Smythe Lake will not be the destination for the race. There will be no usage of a firehose to propel the ducks to the finish line.  
 
Instead, the race will be held at New Realm Brewing Company, where Dockery’s was formerly located. There will still be 30,000 rubber ducks in attendance at the brewery, but they won’t be bobbing in water. The atmosphere will be a pool-type environment with a tarp contraption to give the appearance of water. 
 
A few children will be selected to pick out the ducks randomly like a raffle. Each duck will have a GPS tracker associated with a number to keep track of the duck’s owner. 
 
Lee described the event as a “Duck Pluck Race” or “Pluck the Duck Race.” The ducks are hopeful to return to the water in 2022.
 
Seating and capacity at the brewery are limited. Face mask guidelines will be in the line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Masks will be required when moving from place to place but not while seated at tables.   
 
There will also be live music on scene at the brewery. 
 
Although there won’t be any “racing” going on, there will still be seven lucky ducks who will go home with a share of the $20,000 in prize money. For those who have a duck in the race, first place pays $10,000; second place $5,000 and third place $1,000 (five winners). 
 
“It motivates someone to be philanthropic and support your community, but also on the back end maybe it’s like buying a lottery ticket,” Lee added.
 
To date, approximately 10,000 ducks have been “adopted.” The goal is to have a donor for all 30,000 ducks. 
 
“Hopefully it’s a win-win for the community where they’re helping a cause, supporting their local rotary and an opportunity to win,” Lee said.
 
Those interested in adopting a duck will be able to do so until noon on June 5. For more information, visit CharlestonDuckRace.com.
 
DO YOU HAVE YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW?
 
What: 15th annual Charleston Duck Race
 
When: Saturday, June 5, 4-6 p.m.
 
Where: New Realm Brewing Company (880 Island Park Drive)
 
Adoption deadline: Noon on June 5. To adopt, go to CharlestonDuckRace.com.
 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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