Author: Ellie Whitaker
October 8, 2023
Indian Spring Park was filled with duck paraphernalia Sunday afternoon during the Great Waco Duck Race. Participants of all ages sported duck-billed hats and t-shirts, carried rubber duckies and hugged plush ducks. A yellow duck mascot posed for pictures by the bridge.
Spectators lined the river to watch the waterfall of 6,000 rubber ducks drop into the Brazos River from the Washington Avenue Bridge. Mazanec Construction equipment dumped the ducks into the Brazos River. A third-generation partial owner of the family business, Eddie Mazanec and his wife, Jessica, were among the crowd watching the race.
“I am glad we could be such an effective sponsor for an event that is so well-meaning,” Mazanec said.
“We have four kids and two of them are learning how to read right now, so yeah, we think it is a great cause,” Jessica Mazanec said. The couple bought 20 ducks for the race and said they hoped to win.
Along with the ducks, there were colorful inflatables, crafts, face painting, games,
popcorn, Italian ice and several fun games for children like “Go Fish” and “Plinko.”
Children’s book author Renee Hayes was there for a meet-and-greet.
The race took a surprising twist when the Waco fire boat got the race rope stuck in its propeller. Imagination Library volunteers in canoes turned the duck race into a “duck pluck.” They randomly selected four ducks from the water as the winners. These lucky ducks won incredible prizes. First place won a $1,500 Visa gift card. Second place won a $750 Visa gift card and third place won a $250 gift card. Also, all the winners received a 2024 4-pack season pass to Hawaiian Falls.
Over $25,000 dollars were raised for Imagination Library over the course of the event and about 20 kids signed up for the book program. It was a quackin’ good time for all visitors to the Brazos River, including Dorothy Harris. A member of the North Texas Jeep Club District 12, Harris has a passion for ducks, Jeeps and children’s literacy.
“I have really enjoyed this event. It is for a good cause, and it is a way of getting the community together and encouraging the kids to be able to read and make it fun,” Harris said.
When she was growing up, Harris’ mother could not read. She had to read things for her mother and learned the value of children’s literacy.
“I definitely encourage children’s reading,” Harris said. “I instill it in my kids and find it very important because I saw my mom struggle so much. Having kids that have learning disabilities and are behind, you must find ways to get them to interact with reading and make it fun for them. This event is great for that.”
Harris and her two dogs were among hundreds of happy spectators at the race. Overall, the charitable raffle event for Imagination Library was a wonderful time for all feathered and non-feathered friends at Indian Spring Park.
About Imagination Library of Waco
Imagination Library of Waco was started in December 2020 and is the local affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The mission is to ensure that all children in Waco grow up surrounded by books. It’s that simple. Imagination Library of Waco currently serves six zip codes in the heart of Waco, with plans to expand to all of McLennan County. There are currently over 1,400 children enrolled in the program and to-date, Imagination Library of Waco has gifted over 20,000 books.
Imagination Library of Waco 