THUNDER BAY — The Kam River Ultimate Duck Race will kick off for its second year later this spring.
Our Kids Count and their sponsors held a launch event for the race on Wednesday at Minnesota Park’s outdoor rink.
Organizers said they hope to see everyone come out for the race on May 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year, Our Kids Count is excited to bring the Ultimate Duck Race back again, said Jackie Knough, the executive director.
“It’s a really fun family event where families can come out to the Fort William Historical Park and see their ducks race down the river with a chance to win the grand prize of $10,000,” said Knough.
She explained that Our Kids Count does a lot in the community, especially around food security, and the money raised from this event will go directly to supporting local families.
“We’re just constantly bringing in new food programs,” said Knough.
“We provide food in our food cupboard and we do lots of community kitchens. We have kids coming in the kitchen to cook, so just expanding on those programs and adding in more services for families that need the support.”
Last year, the charity raised roughly $20,000, which it hopes to do the same this year or more, added Knough.
“We’re just excited to see that pot grow and to raise some money for the community,” said Knough.
Knough said the event will have everything they had last year and even more surprises.
"We have lots of family fun activities, different crafts, a scavenger hunt (and) obviously it’s really fun watching the ducks get launched down the river,” said Knough.
“We’re going to have some food vendors and lots of different activities. I mean, Fort William Historical Park is always fun to go to and it’s even more fun when you can go and watch the ducks race down the river.”
However, she said locals don’t need to attend to win and can still support the raffle by purchasing a duck ticket online.
Our Kids Count was excited to have Bell return as their presenting sponsor and to continue their partnership with the Kam River Fighting Walleye.
Brianna Bernst, the marketing and sales coordinator for the Kam River Fighting Walleye, said one of its biggest principles is helping the community.
“We have our players giving free skating lessons and just going with that us being in the community, we like to help agencies like Our Kids Count who are in the same communities as us helping the kids that way we can see firsthand how far the community support goes,” said Bernst.
Payton Fawcett said she was having fun with the Walleye on the rink even after forgetting to bring her jersey. Her favourite part of the upcoming race is seeing lots of ducks go down the river.
“Some of them are slow, but lots of them are really fast,” said Fawcett.
Bernst said it’s beneficial to promote the race by showing them firsthand in the community with the kids who will benefit from the money and where the money will go.
“The kids love it,” said Bernst.
“Just seeing thousands of ducks racing down the river is a sight to be seen because you don’t see it quite often.”
She said any amount of money they can raise to donate and time to give back to the community and local agencies would be amazing for them.
“Yes, you have a chance to win, but you also have the chance to benefit the lives of thousands of children,” said Bernst.
With the help of many other sponsors, including Recycle West and United Rentals, she said they can make the event bigger and better than last year.
“Hopefully, with the event changing, we’ll be able to raise more money and give that back to the community as well,” said Bernst.
