Duck race about to make a splash

It’s time for the annual Hill City Lions Club Rubber Duck race. This year’s race is being held Aug. 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Memorial Park in Hill City.

The event is a way to support the Hill City Lions Club in its mission to provide community service throughout Hill City. The club assists locals with eyeglasses and eye exams to those in need and donates to a program that matches dogs with visually impaired people in addition to donating to disaster relief programs. Hill City Lions Club board president Stefanie Doaty said the club recently donated $1,000 to help after two major hurricanes hit the North Carolina and Tennessee region last year. Most of the money the non-profit collects stays local, including donating money to the Missoula Children’s Theatre project that comes to town each year or offering scholarships to its graduating Leo Club members.

This year’s Rubber Duck Race will look similar to last with the exception of not having a craft fair. There will still be various children’s carnival games, face painting, a bounce house and a $6 hot dog meal. Cassandra Ott said she loves doing face painting each year for the duck race. 

“I love seeing how much the kids enjoy it. I feel we all have an obligation to serve our community in some way and painting faces is one way I can do that,” Ott said.

Doaty encourages that spirit of volunteerism and is still looking for volunteers to help with the race and live bands or musicians to offer live music for the day. The Lions Club has very few members, most of whom are senior citizens, and finding volunteers for events like this, or for manning the food pantry or blood drive it holds, can be challenging. Volunteers can help with anything from serving food to running carnival games to selling duck tickets or running the bounce house.

There are a limited number of duck tickets for the race, but plenty are still available. Each duck is $10, but racers can purchase three ducks for $20. 

The first, second and third place duck finishers receive a cash prize based on the event proceeds. 

Doaty has made it simple to buy a duck. The Lions Club will sell ducks in person at Krull’s Market Aug 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can scan the duck race poster QR code found around Hill City, including the Hill City Post Office, and ducks can also be bought in person from any Lions Club member. 

The duck race begins promptly at 1 p.m.

For more information about the race or to volunteer with the Hill City Lions Club visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/HillCityLionsSD.