Ducking The Finish Line

Last Saturday, we trekked down to Greenville, SC for a day at the derby. The Kenducky Derby, that is.

Every year, cities throughout the great expanse of our nation hold fundraising events centered around dumping a large collection of rubber duckies onto a natural mass of water, thereafter witnessing the synergistic convergence of inanimate objects compelled to movement by the forces of nature. Yeah, you interpreted that right: A rubber ducky race.

Rotary of Greenville hosted this particular event at Greenville’s beautiful downtown Reedy River Falls Park. Various businesses sponsored the race and proceeds went to charitable causes like:

The Mauldin Miracle League - A baseball league for children with disabilities
GAIHN (Greenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network) - Re-establishes housing and roots for homeless families.
Charities of Rotary International

I really have no idea how many of these dayglow yellow, synthetic waterfowl were dispensed into the raging (well, maybe there’s a touch of hyperbole in that adjective) waters of the Reedy River. Event organizers claim 10,000 numbered duckies are entered into this contest, so I’ll just take their word for it.

All in all, it was a fun experience and I look forward to next year’s race. However, I won’t be scaling rock to get a shot of duckies descending the falls…it was rather tedious and constrictive to get good pics. Not to mention, a bit dangerous for a clumsy old man like myself. Next time around, I’ll be up top at the starting point where I can get a full shot of all the rubbery contestants. And ice cream.