The annual Rubber Duckie Race and Festival is Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center's largest community event. Thousands of supporters buy tickets for the race, and the festival attracts hundreds of visitors each year for food, games, pony rides, and bounce houses. The spectacle of as many as 25,000 rubber duckies dropping into the Conestoga River at Lancaster County Central Park and floating down to the finish is always an impressive sight. Additionally, the Schreiberpalooza music festival scheduled the day before the Duckie Race has become a spectacle in its own right. Last year, the event was moved to Clair Brothers in Manheim and attracted more than 600 guests who heard music from local bands.
This year, the festivities will take place on Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10. Schreiberpalooza will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 9 at Clair Brothers, 1 Clair Blvd., Manheim. This year's lineup will feature The Mama Tried Band, Good2Go, 3rd Power Family Soul, and MOE Blues. Attendance is open to people age 21 and older. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets and T-shirts for the 29th annual Rubber Duckie Race and Festival will also be offered for sale.
A special VIP backstage package featuring backstage opportunities, food and beverage vouchers, a lanyard, and more will be offered this year. VIP packages and general admission tickets may be purchased at http://www.schreiberpediatric.org/palooza.
The weekend's main event will be held on Sept. 10 at Lancaster County Central Park, 1050 Rockford Road, Lancaster. The festival will kick off at 2 p.m., and the racing ducks will hit the water at 5 p.m.
Schreiber supporters can purchase tickets for the race, and each ticket will correspond with one of either 20,000 yellow ducks or 5,000 blue ducks. Among the yellow ducks, the first 50 across the finish line will win prizes for people holding those tickets. For blue ducks, the first 10 finishers will win one of the higher-value prizes, including a propane grill, a flat-screen television, and a mountain bike. Winning ticketholders must present their ticket stubs to claim their prizes.
With each ticket purchase, supporters will receive a souvenir duckie. This year's theme of Fairlyland Festival features ducks imagined as fairies, trolls, dragons, knights, and princesses. Each ticket for a blue duck comes with a limited edition - and rarely seen - unicorn duck.
Race tickets are on sale now at the Schreiber Center, 625 Community Way, Lancaster, and at http://www.schreiberpediatric.org/ducks. They will also be available at various locations around Lancaster County prior to race day. A listing of locations is available at the website.
Admission to the festival will be free of charge. Food and beverages will be available for purchase, and vendors will sell crafts and other items.
The proceeds from the race, festival, and Schreiberpalooza will be used to fund the ongoing operations of the Schreiber Center, which is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that annually provides physical, occupational, and speech-language therapies, as well as educational recreational programs, to 4,000 central Pennsylvania children living with congenital and acquired disabilities and developmental delays. The center's goal-oriented approach maximizes each child's ability to function as independently as possible within the community. For more information, readers may visit http://www.schreiberpediatric.org.
Volunteers are an important part of making the weekend's activities a success. Folks who would like to contribute their time and energy to the event may follow the link posted under the volunteer section at http://www.schreiberpediatric.org/ducks.
Readers with questions about the events, as well as those who would like to purchase Schreiberpalooza VIP packages, may contact Dan Fink at 717-393-0425, ext. 105, or dfink@schreiberpediatric.org.
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