File Photo of the Kern River by Patrick Ray
Members of the committee to plan the Rubber Duck Races recently had to relocate the event for this year’s Kern Valley Exchange Club fundraiser. While the committee originally planned the August 24 event, at Riverside Park, it will now be located at Circle Park in Kernville instead. However the races will continue to be in the Kern River as planned.
“We’re still going to be using the river, even though we don’t have Riverside Park. Everything will be moved to Circle Park,” said president of the club, Fred Roach.
The reason the club made the decision to move the meeting point for their Rubber Duck Races event was because of the fact the county resumed working on Riverside Park. And the organization was not the only one inconvenienced by the long awaited improvements to the previously storm torn park.
The group will still offer tickets on the date of the event, although the club had sold all of the original tickets by the planned date of August 15. They plan on printing more tickets for late planners. “If you don’t have your duck tickets, you can still buy them the day of the race,” said Roach. Tickets are $25 a piece or $100 for a family of five.
Latisha Pruitt, board member of the Kern Valley Exchange Club told the Kern Valley Sun, “This is our biggest fund raiser. This will be the 37th annual Rubber Ducky race for the Kern River Valley. This is our base fundraiser, for the scholarships, for high school kids. Exchange Club gives the most amount of money, out of the whole valley, to our graduating class each year. Plus we honor the students and the teachers from other grades throughout the year,”
The duck races start at 1pm. But the family fun and everything should be set up by 10am for people to start coming out. A meal is included, at around 11am with each entrance ticket to the event. Attendees will be able to enjoy a delicious buffet, with deep pit, baked beans, potato salad, and a beverage.
Due to the flooding, and the fact Riverside Park was closed last year, up until three days before the Rubber Ducky event, the exchange club used Circle Park last year for the fundraiser. Because of COVID the club wasn’t allowed to hold the event in the river since 2019. Therefore during COVID the club used Rivernook Camp Ground, the tub one year, and the tumbler last year.
Pruitt said the Kern Valley Exchange Club also hopes that Camp Erwin Owen, possibly One Spade Packers and FFA will be volunteering at the event.
