Noblesville Main Street is ramping up its fifth annual Rubber Duck Race on White River in downtown Noblesville on Aug. 3 with a couple of changes – mainly a potential payout of $1 million.
The time also has changed. Instead of a Friday evening event, the race and surrounding activities will occur on Saturday afternoon. On Aug. 2, there will be a slate of activities planned to take place during the First Friday Preview Party. Other major changes for the race itself include more pre-race ceremonies like a floating parade of miniature duck-themed floats released in sequence to appropriately-themed music. There will be live music, food options and a “duck catapult.”
“We want to make this an afternoon where people of all ages can come down and spend three or four hours and have a great time, maybe win some prizes, revel in our beautiful downtown, and gain an appreciation for what a great resource we have in White River,” Race Chairman Jon Houghtalen said. “With the recently completed section of the Riverwalk amenity along this stretch, it really is a wonderful public space we need to celebrate.”
Perhaps the biggest change in the race is its distance. All previous races started by dropping all the ducks into the river at the Field Drive bridge, which would take two or more hours for the ducks to arrive at the Logan Street Bridge. This year, all the ducks will be dropped into the water from an Indiana Transportation Museum flat-bed car on the bridge spanning the river between downtown and Forest Park, in full view of all the attendees. By utilizing the same finish line position, the race will now be a 5 to 15-minute sprint.
“We expect a large crowd of people on all the bridges and the Riverwalk trail to be wildly cheering on their duck to the $1-million prize,” NMS Executive Director Renee Oldham said. “As there has been in the past, many other large and smaller prizes will be awarded. Just because someone may not win the $1 million, doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of reasons to show up and win prizes and have a great time.”
Tickets for adopting a duck entry into the race are $5 each, just as they have been since the first year. Tickets are available at NMS’s office at 839 Conner St. and at several merchants in and around the downtown area. For more information, contest rules, merchant ticket locations, and a list of prizes, visit www.noblesvillemainstreet.org.