If you've never seen one, the excitement centers around the race, or the win. People purchase an artificial duck (or many) to help raise money for a special cause. Prices of rubber ducks are inflated beyond the actual cost and usually cost participants anywhere from $5 to 100. When you buy the duck, you become its sponsor in a race. Your name or an assigned number is written on the duck with marker pen to distinguish yours from the rest.

Some participants opt to not take their ducks home (when it is an option) after the races have finished. There are companies that rent and deliver thousands of rubber ducks, and take them back after the event, cleaning them, recycling them, etc.

The rubber duck race or derby requires a source of water to race the hundreds or thousands of ducks that bobble and bounce toward some destination. To get them to move in a direction, there must be a slant on the artificial ramp, or waves you'll find naturally in lakes and oceans.

We've seen California duck races held in the Pacific Ocean with volunteers gathering the ducks as they come to shore, we've seen at water parks, and we've seen them in places where there's no natural body of water. In those situations, the planners make their own water race course. Rubber ducky fans can't get their fill of duck-mania in California can certainly get their fix.

2012 Duck Derbies

• AVALON April 7, 2012 Rubber Ducky Derby catalinachamber.com
• LAKE GREGORY   April 7, 2012 Rubber Ducky Derby . Over 2,000 ducks  adopted. Egg Hunt 11:30.  Race Starts 1pm,  At 1pm Lake Gregory Park Rangers will release all the rubber ducky's down the 320 foot winding water slide. The ducks will plunge into the icy cold lake. Because of their training and diligence they will navigate their way through the spill way. Then the competition gets tuff as they fight their way to be the first to reach the finish line.  lakegregoryduckderby.com
• SANTA CRUZ Ducky Derby April 28, 2012 duckyderbysantacruz.com  22nd Annual Ducky Derby & Carnival Rain or Shine Saturday, April 28, 2012 Rubber Duck Races • Games • Food Prizes • Entertainment • Free Admission
• ROCKLIN -May 6  Rubber Ducky Festival held at Johnson-Springview Park. rocklin.ca.gov
• WESTPORT Mother's Day May Great Rubber Ducky Race westportca.org (2nd Sunday in May- May 13, 2012)
• HUNTINGTON BEACH May 18 - 20, 2012 Duck-a-thon at Huntington Beach Pier duckathon.org
• LOS GATOS  Silicon Valley Duck Race June 10, 2012 at Vasona Lake Park siliconvalleyduckrace.org
• SOUTH LAKE TAHOE  June 23, 2012 Ducky Races South Lake Tahoe Optimist Club's Day in Paradise - Duck Race & BBQ at Tahoe Paradise Park. Time: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.  9th Annual South Lake Tahoe Optimist Club's Day in Paradise -Duck races, BBQ, games for the kids and even a race. Admission is free. Contact Information Tahoe Paradise Park (530) 577-9881 Location: 1011 East San Bernardino Avenue South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 tahoesouth.com
• SAN CLEMENTE July Ocean Festival Great Rubber Duck Race July 22, 2012  oceanfestival.org
• NEVADA CITY September 9, 2012  Constitution Day Parade nevadacitychamber.com
• REDDING September 30, 2012  Ducky Derby reddingduckyderby.com

Here are some past rubber duck races and derbies in California:

There must be something special about the yellow rubber duck. People go quackers for them. In my house alone, there are four sitting on the bathtub shelf and every time I try to make them disappear (they've been there for years) someone cries, "fowl!" It's said that a maid at the Royal Palace even spotted the Queen with one (the duck wears a crown) so you just never know who likes them--and why. For rubber ducky fans, you can't get your fill of duck-mania in California but you can certainly get your fix. 

• ANTELOPE VALLEY Rubber Duck Race Summer palmdaleelks2027.com
• BANNING BEAUMONT Quickest Quacker September Morongo Casino
• DANA POINT Festival of Whales Duck Derby March dpfestivalofwhales.com will be back again in 2013
• DEL MAR Chili & Quackers Challenge October 15, 2011 at Powerhouse Park ChiliandQuackers.com.
• EUREKA Quacks for KEET August  woofstock.org
• FREMONT Ducks 4 Bucks Benefit Race April ducks4bucks.org
• GLENDALE Saturday, October 15, 2011 Kiwanis Duck Race at Verdugo Park   duckrace.com/glendale (website vague)
• HANFORD June Ducky Derby at Hanford West High School
• IRVINE Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011 at Wild Rivers Waterpark duckyderbyoc.com
• KERNVILLE Duck Races August kernvillechamber.org
• LANCASTER September Duck Derby 
• OAKLAND August rubberduckyderby.org TBA
• SANTA CLARA Great America Ducky Derby September cagreatamerica.com (not appearing on website)
• SANTA CLARITA Rubber Ducky Festival Saturday, October 22, 2011 at Castaic Lake Call: 661-257-2339   sdfhc.org
• SONOMA August Rubber Ducky Derby gunbun.com (not appearing on website events)
• VALLEJO July Ducky Derby vallejoduckyderby.com (economic issues)