On August 5, after a three-year pandemic hiatus, the Roaring Fork once again will turn bright yellow as a dump truck at No Problem Bridge releases thousands of rubber ducks into the wild. The Rotary Club of Aspen’s Ducky Derby—the primary fundraiser for the organization’s college scholarships, community donations, and international projects—also returns festivities to Rio Grande Park (11 a.m.–4 p.m.), with games, a beer garden, skateboard competition, silent auction, a backcountry marathon, and music (“Rubber ducky, you’re the one…”). aspenrotary.org  

• 31 - Years since Aspen’s first Ducky Derby
• 3 - Longevity (average, in years) of community Ducky Derby fundraisers nationwide
• 20K - Maximum number of rubber ducks to be released into the river
• 2.5 - Average time, in hours, it takes volunteers to glue coded IDs on 20k ducks at the nonprofit’s pre-race “butt stickering” barbecue
• 1.5 - River miles the ducks travel from the “duck drop” at No Problem Bridge to the finish funnel near the Sanitation District
• 8 - Length (in feet) of flexible funnel used to pluck winning ducks from the river
• 100 - The farthest (in river miles) a duck is known to have floated from Aspen
• $20 - Amount it costs to adopt a duck
• $100 - Cost of Quack Pack (15 ducks)
• $15K - Amount received for a first-place finish, pre-pandemic
• $2+M - Money the event has raised for community youth, health and human service groups, international projects, and college scholarships for Aspen and Basalt High School students