ARDMORE - Attendees gathered at the Beaver River Bridge north of Ardmore to support Ardmore School’s 34th annual Duck Race fundraiser. Despite the smokey and windy weather, families came to enjoy an afternoon of activities, food, and community on June 1.
Event organizer Ashley Kuzma explained that the annual event raises money for Ardmore School’s Parent Advisory.
“The Parent Advisory uses the money raised to benefit the school. We give teachers a classroom allowance, so they’re not paying for things out of pocket. We pay for presenters to come out, and we had storm chasers come this year, and the kids loved it . . . The grade threes, fours and fives are going to the TELUS World of Science this week and we cover that expense. It just really alleviates the cost for parents, and all our students can get the same experience,” said Kuzma.
The Parent Advisory also covers Christmas hampers for students' families, and swimming lessons, so all students get the “fundamental experience of learning to swim,” for both safety reasons, and for the joy of it.
“We’re just trying to give everyone an equal experience, and with tightening budgets from the government, we’re really trying to help where we can so our teachers aren’t paying out of pocket, because that’s not fair to them,” said Kuzma.
The Sunday event featured lawn games, face painting, a barbecue, auction items, and a live performance by Ardmore teacher Camille Corey and her band Gypsy Renegades.
The plastic ducks were set loose down the Beaver River in a tough race, as winds blew them into the banks where most settled.
Kuzma braved wading into the river to help push the ducks along. After catching the tenacious winning duck, the pick-up crew in boats set out with their nets to retrieve the rest of ducks. One volunteer at the bow of the boat scooping ducks out of the water exclaimed “No ducks left behind!”
Robert Livingston watched the pick-up crew, laughing from the riverbank.
“This is Alberta’s version of Deadliest Catch,” he joked.
