On Fourth of July, the Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise and the City of Healdsburg are bringing both rubber duckies and families to the Healdsburg Plaza for the second annual combined Duck Dash and Kids’ Parade. The festivities will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the parade beginning at 11 a.m. in the plaza. Admission is free and comes with family activities and games, prizes and live music from the Russian River Ramblers and Jimbo the Clown.
“Come one, come all. It’s truly a day for celebration. We want people to able to start Fourth of July with the parade and finish with the fireworks,” said Pam Moulton, president of the Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise. “Our first goal is to make sure that the community has a wonderful time, it’s our way of saying ‘Thank you’ to them.”
There will be around 25 heats in the Duck Dash. The top prize is $1,500, second is $1,000, and third prize is a weekend in San Francisco in an apartment on Nob Hill.
Duck dash tickets are $5 for one, and $20 for five. They can be purchased the morning of the parade at the plaza, from any sunrise Rotary member or from tables at Big John’s Market and Garrett Ace Hardware, starting around 10 a.m on Saturday and Sunday.
Kids can decorate their own ducks at the event, and will be able to participate in other free activities such as a balloon toss, pie-eating contest and face painting.
Funds raised from the event go back into the community. Sunrise Rotary gave $16,000 in scholarships to local kids this past year, and other organizations the club donates to include the Healdsburg Boys and Girls Club, the Healdsburg Wonder League and local mentor programs. Moulton said that Sunrise Rotary is hoping to raise about $16,000 at the event, their biggest fundraiser of the year. Last year, the club raised between $12,000-$13,000 at the event.
