Great Waco Duck Race taking over Brazos River to benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - 20,000 rubber ducks will be racing down the Brazos River in a few weeks raising money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Waco.

The nonprofit provides books to local young kids who may not otherwise have them.  

This is the third year in a row for the Great Waco Duck Race and with the success it’s had so far, organizers are planning it bigger and better than ever.

Local physician Dr. Noelle Baker is the executive director of Imagination Library of Waco.

 “The duck race is great and a lot of fun,” Baker said.  “We have great fun family fest that allows kids to come out and have a great time and then see the duck drop that allows us to continue to get these books in the community.”

Imagination Library was founded by Dolly Parton in 1995 in Tennessee and has been growing since all over the country and in multiple countries.  

Waco became an affiliate in 2020.  

“Dolly’s own father was not able to read or write so she really had a passion for expanding the resource in providing books to children in her East Texas Tennessee community and from there it grew and expanded,” Baker said.  

The nonprofit mails one age-appropriate book every month to kids from birth to five years.

The mission is to foster a love of reading and learning so that kids are ready to start kindergarten.

“We have a lot of parents talking to us about how grateful they are for this resource because they may not be able to afford books or have a hard time getting to the library during library hours,” Baker said.

The Great Waco Duck race is the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

People are asked to buy a duck for five dollars.   The ducks are then numbered and dropped from the Washington Street Bridge where they’ll race down the river.  The winners will receive prizes.  

The first year the group sold 6,000 ducks.  This year, their goal is 20,000.

The race will be Sunday, October 19 from noon to 3 p.m.

The ducks will be dropped at 2 p.m.

There will be plenty of activities for the entire family as well as food trucks.

Following the race, local Boy Scouts will make sure every duck is retrieved from the river.

If you would like to purchase a duck you can go to GreatWacoDuckRace.com.

Copyright 2025 KWTX. All rights reserved.