Strongsville Duck Race & KidsFest is free family fun

With eager anticipation, kids and parents line the banks of the Rocky River, awaiting the arrival of a waddling yellow wave of rubber ducks who aggressively jockey for position as they approach the finish line.

The annual Strongsville Duck Race is the culmination of a daylong free festival of family friendly fun and interactive learning at KidsFest. The 3rd annual Pat Catan’s KidsFest and Duck Race, organized by the Rotary Club of Strongsville, will be held on Saturday, June 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Cleveland Metroparks Chalet Recreation Area.

KidsFest, says Tom Drost, chairman of the event, is Rotary’s way of providing kids of the community with a full day of fun and safe activities, like pony rides, face painting, inflatables and the chance to see and touch army trucks, fire engines and monster trucks. Food and refreshments will be available.

KidsFest, which drew more than 3,000 attendees last year, is free to all, but raffle tickets will be available to win a wagon full of toys. And, those who want a chance to win $1,500 can adopt ducks to enter into the race.

The cost is $10 per duck, or $20 for a flock of three. Parents of the first three ducks to swim across the finish line will win $1,500, $1,000 and $500. The ducks will be dropped into the Rocky River, about a half-mile upstream from the entrance of The Chalet. It takes about 20 minutes for them to swim home.

Ducks can be adopted at the event, or online in advance of the race.

Proceeds from the duck sales will be donated to the Cleveland Metroparks for the restoration of the Wintergreen Cabin, at Fair and Albion roads. The cabin, which once was extensively used by scouts and other groups, fell into disrepair and was being considered for demolition.

“Thankfully, the Strongsville Rotary partnered with the Cleveland Metroparks and adopted the cabin as a renovation project,” says Joseph Roszak, chief operating officer of the Cleveland Metroparks. “A fund has now been established and repairs have started. Our goal is to make the facility usable again this summer and complete the final stages of the project by summer 2016. What was once abandoned will now be given back to the community as an asset to be used for a variety of rental uses.”

Parking will not be available onsite at The Chalet, but handicapped accessible shuttles will be running continuously between The Chalet and the RTA Park-N-Ride at the Pearl Road entrance to the Ohio Turnpike –just a few minutes away.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for the event, and Rotary is also seeking organizations that would like to sell ducks for fundraising. To adopt your ducks, or to get more information about KidsFest and the Strongsville Duck Race, you can visit StrongsvilleDuckRace.com.