Duck-a-thon Duck Festival May 19-20, 2012 10 a.m. daily. Free admission.

Location: Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington Beach, CA. duckathon.org
Saturday 10 am - 6 pm
Sunday   10 am - 5 pm
 

Huntington Beach, California - Duck-a-thon may sound like some duck hunting event, and in a way it is. The hunting is more like catching rubber ducks as they get dumped from the Huntington Beach Pier and bob their way with the ocean currents back to Huntington City Beach.

Schedule:

Friday,   Sunset Wine Tasting at the Pier Plaza, Huntington Beach. 6-8 p.m. $40-50 presale; $50-60 door. Tickets: duckathon.org

Local restaurants supply tantalizing hors d'oeuvres while wineries from across California donate boutique wines that are poured all evening.

Saturday   10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Vendors with arts & crafts, food treats, décor, jewelry and more. Children's Area includes bounce houses, retired rubber duck decorating, games, a toddler's zone and prizes!

Duck Race 3 p.m. Huntington Beach Pier - Over 4,000 rubber ducks are dumped from a big truck into the Pacific Ocean. The first 60 baby ducks to shore win their owners a prize.

Sunday,  The Duck Festival 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Vendors with arts & crafts, food treats, décor, jewelry and more. Children's Area includes bounce houses, retired rubber duck decorating, games, a toddler's zone and prizes!

Corporate Duck Race 1 p.m. Huntington Beach Pier - On Sunday, Corporate ducks compete for the coveted Golden Duck Traveling Trophy. Corporate ducks are larger rubber ducks and there is only one winner in this race.

Conceived nearly 20 years ago, Duck-a-thon event was launched as an annual fundraiser for the Huntington Beach Community Clinic. The volunteer organization has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for that non-profit which has provided health care to those who can't afford it otherwise. Several years ago the Community Clinic was sold to AltaMed, another such provider of medical services, and the Duck-a-thon continues to raise money for AltaMed.

The event, Duck-a-thon Festival, is held a weekend in May and is comprised of rubber duck sponsorship sales. You can purchase a sponsor opportunity and have a name of your choice put on the duck that will be entered into the race. A grand prize is awarded to the top winner and other ducks gathered up as first arrivals on the beach.

A team of volunteers with plastic laundry baskets gather the ducks as they arrive on the beach, and an official watch to monitor and decide the grand prize winner.

Those who sponsor ducks can collect their ducks afterwards if they like. The time normally is 5-6 p.m. on Saturday and all day Sunday.

Events included in the festival are a Friday evening wine reception for 21+, duck dip with a scooper where a child gets a gift for a $1 scoop, vendor booths, food vendors, live entertainment, kids activities such as bounce house and fun things to do.