The rubber ducks were back at the River Walk — and with them, thousands of local residents — as the Cross Timbers Rotary held its eighth annual Rhythms at the River Walk fundraiser last Saturday, cementing the duck derby as both a community tradition and a cornerstone event for Flower Mound’s underutilized River Walk development.
After the Cross Timbers Rotary Club – which just celebrated its 10th birthday – was launched, its founders wanted to find a signature fundraising event to put on. Some visited a rubber duck race in another Texas town and they loved the idea. And fortunately, the newly completed Flower Mound River Walk was available.
“It was the natural choice,” said Nicole Smith Woodard, immediate past president of Cross Timbers Rotary. “It’s always been a symbiotic, win-win relationship.”
In September 2018, the community turned out to watch thousands of yellow rubber ducks get dumped into the water and “race” down to the finish line for the inaugural event. It’s $5 to adopt a duck. If your duck wins, you get a $2,500 gift card. The event has grown each year, most recently reaching 30,000 ducks adopted and 3-4,000 people in attendance. All owners of the top 10 finishers will win a gift card. Cross Timbers Rotary has given grants to local nonprofits worth more than $800,000 raised from this annual event.
“If you’ve never seen 30,000 rubber ducks at one time, you have to come see the spectacle,” Woodard said.
The event has become synonymous with the River Walk, a 158-acre mixed-use development featuring a central tree-lined waterway which sat largely empty for years and is still gathering steam to fill restaurant space and host more events to bring in people from Flower Mound and neighboring communities.
“The Rotary’s duck race brings a large crowd to the River Walk, each year exposing new customers to the River Walk’s amenities,” said Ray Watson, director of economic development for Flower Mound. “Through this event, we’ve seen that the River Walk is a great location for community festivals and has the infrastructure and amenities to support large crowds.”
In fact, the town is planning around the potential the River Walk boasts with a new event. Its inaugural Fall Festival, scheduled for Oct. 10-11, is expected to draw thousands of residents and visitors to the River Walk. The town’s first two-day event “is designed to capture the charm of the season” and promises “a weekend of fun, connection and local pride,” according to the town’s website. Festivities will include a hay maze, carnival row, pumpkin picture prairie, live performances, a 21+ area with drinks and games for adults, food trucks, kids’ activities and more.
Melissa Demmitt, director of communications for the town, said the River Walk has the land, parking, restaurants and lodging for an event of this size. It also functions as a good way for people to discover more things to do in the River Walk area, which the town still sees as an important development.
“The town is always looking at ways to support our business community, and bringing new visitors to the River Walk is one way we can do that,” Demmitt said.
Last October, the Flower Mound Farmers Market moved to the River Walk and local vendors and residents take over Promenade Way every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The town also recently purchased land in the River Walk for a future performing arts center, which will be another avenue to help encourage activity in the area.
The center, which may include a main stage theater, a black box performance space, a multipurpose room for music and dance, classrooms, music practice rooms, a music studio and production spaces, will be constructed on 3.67 acres at 4200 River Walk Drive. Officials expect the design phase to be finalized by spring of next year.
