Thousands of rubber ducks take a swim in Manotick for local fundraiser

2,000 rubber ducks raced for glory in the Rideau River as part of an inaugural fundraiser to support Watson’s Mill. CTV’s Camille Wilson reports.

Thousands of rubber ducks took raced down the Rideau River Sunday for the first annual Great Mill Duck Drop to raise money for Watson’s Mill in Manotick.

Being near the Rideau River, organizers say it was the the perfect way to raise money for the Mill.

“The city of Ottawa is divesting the two buildings on the other side of the road from the mill. We are going to take ownership of them. Their care now is set with us for the future,” said Shannon Guist, president of Watson’s Mill Manotick Inc.

“We’re taking ownership of a few more of the buildings here in Dickinson Square. We’ve had to come up with some ideas to generate some bigger income for us annually.”

Sarah Grandinetti attended the event with her daughters for a day of family fun

“We love ducks to begin with,” said Grandinetti. “As soon as we saw that this event was coming to Manotick, we thought it was the best thing ever.”

The ducks started off by floating in the basement at Watson’s Mill around the turbines before letting loose and swimming down the river. Each duck that entered the race had a number on the bottom, matching the number for a ticket holder.

“We have a few tickets in the race, so hopefully we’ll be the one that has the line. We found out that our duck is a lucky number. We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Shannon Ieria.

The top three finishers to reach the finish line take home a cash prize, with first place at just over $1,000.

Family activities included a bubble show, face painting, duck decorating and a scavenger hunt.

The Ottawa Jeep Club came “ducked” out, with decorations all over the car.

“Jeeps go with ducks, so I thought it was fitting I got in contact with them and they’ve obviously embraced coming,” said Guist.

Selling out of the 2,000 duck tickets in less than 30 days, organizers say they will increase the number for next year to make sure everybody can get one.

“We’re really excited for this to become a tradition in Manotick and we hope that it grows every year because this is just amazing,” said Grandinetti.

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