Luck E. Duck greets her fans at the FOX 50 Family Fest & Great American Tobacco Duck Race on Saturday, October 2nd. |
 View the Slideshow |
Take one part FOX 50 Family Fest and one part Great American Tobacco Duck Race, mix, and what do you get? A family-friendly event which drew over 4,500 to the lawn of American Tobacco in downtown Durham on Saturday, October 2, 2010.
Double the Fun
FOX 50 mounted Family Fest for the second time, and its success has insured the free event will become an annual tradition. The Duck Race took over the Ol’ Bull River for the fourth time this year and expanded to benefit three Triangle charities.
Bay 7 got in on the action for the first time this year, as well, with a variety of vendors and booths with fun activities for families indoors. Parents and children sang along to Idol Karaoke, too.
FOX 50 & American Tobacco staffers work hard to make the merger of their two big events a huge success. |
“I am so proud of our staff’s great teamwork and planning,” said FOX 50 Vice President & General Manager Tommy Schenck. “The event was incredibly well-organized. I have received positive comments from numerous clients and other CBC divisions as well. Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time on a beautiful Saturday to make the second annual event an overwhelming success!”
Let’s Get Quacking
WRAL-TV Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel got a big welcome from the Duck Race crowd thanks to the absolute perfect weather he must’ve brought with him to Durham. Fishel served as a judge for the James Scott Farrin Duck Decorating Contest along with his Brain Game host successor Mark Roberts, FOX 50 Tarheel Talk host Sonya Williams, Wool E. Bull, Stormy from the Carolina Hurricanes and Eric Sanchez from the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin.
Ducks take over the Ol’ Bull River to help three local charities. |
The race itself collectively raised over $32,000 for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Explorer Post 50, and Duke Children’s Hospital.
Prizes for the winners included Duke Men’s Basketball tickets, Carolina Panthers tickets, Broadway Series tickets and more.
Family Fun
Families enjoyed chatting with a variety of vendors and trying out all sorts of games. The National Jump Rope Champions “The Bouncing Bulldogs” entertained on the lawn while children got their faces painted and jumped in the bounce house. Live animals from Noah’s Landing delighted guests, as well as exhibits from Morehead Planetarium and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. And of course the Wii and X-Box gaming stations were popular. The LEGO Fan Display in Bay 7 was a hit.
Bands and dance groups did numbers on the main stage, and the YMCA of the Greater Triangle got the crowd moving with some field games.
YMCA staffers & Stormy get the crowd moving on the lawn. |
“Just wanted to say thank you to all of you at Fox 50 for a wonderful time at the American Tobacco Campus this past Saturday,” an attendee shared with FOX 50. “We had guests from out of town and went down to the ATC completely unaware that there was an event. We were wondering why the parking garage was so full! Story short – our family guests had a wonderful time and we ended up staying all day. Special thanks to Morehead planetarium and Noah’s Landing. We really enjoyed the jump rope teams as well. So thanks to all the organizers and volunteers for a job well done.”
And Now A Word From Our Sponsors
Talecris Biotherapeutics served as the presenting sponsor for FOX 50’s Family Fest and Duke Medicine served as the presenting sponsor for the Great American Tobacco Duck Race. Other sponsors who helped make the event possible included:
YMCA of the Triangle (Fitness Zone Sponsor), Primrose School at Hope Valley Farms (Corporate Sponsor), Durham Saves Water (Stage Sponsor), Law Offices of James Scott Farrin (Duck Decorating Sponsor.
“I stopped by the event on Saturday and was impressed with the big crowd!” said YMCA Director of Marketing Services Elaine Kennedy. “I got there right after the field games, but [I heard] about them. I went into Bay 7 also, and saw our table there with the banner. Everything looked great. I’m glad it all went so well.”
“Your event was fabulous,” agreed Duke Children’s Hospital’s Robyn Soffera. “What a wonderful thing to do for the community! Wonderful job. Please pass my accolades to all the event organizers.”
Let’s Do It All Again
Be sure to mark your calendar for October 1, 2011, when FOX 50, American Tobacco and tons of rubber ducks will do it all again!
Thanks to FOX 50’s Sylvia Lanier for these capcom photos.
