And they're off

Duck Derby Festival set for May 6

Bryant Rotary Club President David Hannah stands with some of the items available for the winners of the first ever Bryant Rotary Rubber Duck Derby. The derby will be May 6 at Mills Park in Bryant with proceeds going towards the Kids Closet, which clothes about 300 kids a year.
Bryant Rotary Club President David Hannah stands with some of the items available for the winners of the first ever Bryant Rotary Rubber Duck Derby. The derby will be May 6 at Mills Park in Bryant with proceeds going towards the Kids Closet, which clothes about 300 kids a year.

It’s time for Bryant-area residents to get their ducks in a row.

The first Bryant Rotary Rubber Duck Derby will be held May 6 at Mills Park in Bryant, beginning at 10 a.m.

The free festival will feature carnival-style games, a food-truck court, and a kids zone with bounce houses and face-painting. The games will cost one duck buck, which will have space for a person’s name, phone number and email, and be automatically entered in door-prize drawings.

There will also be a stage with entertainment, as well as a health and safety area with members from the Bryant Fire Department and Saline Memorial Hospital.

The day will close out at 2 p.m. with a giant rubber-duck race, as 5,000 individually numbered rubber ducks travel down a man-made 300-foot slide.

“As of right now, we are half-way to our goal,” club president David Hannah said. “We hope to have all 5,000 ducks adopted before the festival gets here.”

The adoption cost is $5 per duck, and the ducks are available online at www.bryantrotary.org, at any Landers dealership or at First Electric. There will also be a booth set up at the Rotary District Conference in Hot Springs on Saturday.

“It was something we don’t have in this area, and I believe it is catching people’s attention,” Hannah said of the Rubber Duck Derby. “There aren’t a lot of festivals in the spring — there are several in the fall — but there is not much going on right now.

“And we thought Mills Park would be perfect for a festival, so we decided to have it there.”

He said the ducks will be in a holding tank, and event volunteers will catch the first 12 to 15 ducks to cross the finish line.

Prizes to be awarded to the Top 10 finishers include the following:

• A Magic Springs summer fun package;

• A family camping-vacation package;

• A weekend getaway to Echo Canyon in Royal;

• A Chick-fil-A gift basket worth $500;

• A Nintendo Switch package;

• A family weekend getaway to Little Rock;

• A family getaway package to Hot Springs;

• A 50-inch 4K TV;

• A 1-year membership to 10 Fitness; and

• A Branson vacation getaway.

“You don’t have to be present to win,” Hannah said. “What we are going to do is draw the duck and then let the person come pick the prize they want. If that person is not there, they will receive the next prize available.”

There will also be one grand prize.

“The first-place duck qualifies to enter, and if their duck number matches one of the 10 pre-selected numbers, that person will earn a $100,000 credit to Landers of Saline County,” Hannah said.

All the proceeds from the event will go to the three charities the Bryant Rotary Club sponsors, including Kids Closet, Imagination Library and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bryant.

“We got a real good interest going so far,” Hannah said. “A lot of it is through our social-media campaign, and then working with schools and such.

“We just want it to be a fun time at the park and for people to try to win some prizes.”

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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