Street Dance and Duck Derby to benefit Hot Springs Rescue Squad

There are just some Fundraisers that put the FUN in the word “Fund”, and Hot Springs Volunteer Rescue Quad’s Street Dance and Duck Derby is one of them. Mike Spurgeon, veteran emergency medical technician, and member of the squad spoke with Allegheny Mountain Radio to remind everyone about the upcoming event.

“This is our third annual dance and Duck Derby, as we call it, and this has turned out to be a real fun time. We decided a couple of years ago to hold our street dance on Memorial Day weekend to kind of kick off the summer, and what better way to kick off the summer than have a street dance? And then we throw in a rubber duck race down the stream behind BB&T bank, and it’s a lot of fun. Basically what you do, is, you buy a duck for 5.00 a piece and the prizes are: 300 for first place, 200 for second place, and 100 for thirds place. And it’s been s popular that we have two races, so you actually, if you buy two ducks, your guaranteed to have a duck in each race, so potentially you could win 600 dollars. What we do is we go up to the parking lot, the little stream behind the bank parking lot. We have up to five hundred ducks that we sell, and last year we sold four hundred and sixty some duck, so you have like two hundred ducks plus in a race, and dump all the ducks in, and everybody’s along the bank rooting their duck along, which they don’t know which duck is theirs, but their all numbered, and I scoop ‘em up down at the bottom, and whoever comes in first and second and third, they are the winners. And I’ve had so many comments about it. It’s such a fun thing for everybody to watch, and we’re excited that we can carry this on again this year, and hopefully for years to come.

You don’t have to be present to win, as long as we get a name, or a phone number, or an address to get hold of you. And if you need to buy a duck, we’re going to have them on sale that night, plus you can get hold of any squad member to buy some ducks, or give Debbie Young a call, at 839-3312, or myself at 839-5105. Just let us know how many duck you want, and we’ll make arrangements to get up with you, collect the money, tell you what your numbers are, and wish the best. “

When I wondered how much all this recent rain might affect the little rubber ducks big float, Mike replied.

“We’re hoping that the creek stays up; we’re hopeful that we’ll have enough water to make the race a fun race.”

And for the less competitive in the crowd, there’s another kind of fun just afterwards.

“Our dance, the street dance we’re going to have DJ Willie present the music, which is always a fun time. He throws in a little bit of everything, cloggin’ square dancin’, so it’s always a fun time there. Entrance fee for adults is seven dollars. It’s two dollars for children six to twelve, and under six is free. We’re going to have hamburgers, hot dogs, compliments of the Homestead, baked goods, and of course the cake walks. Everybody enjoys the cakewalk, so we have some good cake walks. So invite everybody to come out, on May the 28^th,which is Memorial Day weekend, that Saturday. We usually start around six, six thirty. The duck race itself will start at 7:30. We just invite everybody to come out, have a good time. We appreciate everyone supporting Hot Springs Rescue Squad, not just for this, but throughout the year. And this is just kind of our way of kicking off the summer with a safe fun way to start the summer.

The funds raised through this event provide ongoing training for the members of the Hot Springs Rescue Squad. For information, or to purchase a duck, Debbie Young’s number is 839-3312, and Mike Spurgeon’s is 839-5105, or talk to any Rescue Squad member.