For the first time in the 22-year history of the event, the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce expects to sell all of its 20,000 rubber ducks for Saturday's Pawcatuck River Duck Race.

Past years have seen the chamber and more than 40 schools, businesses and nonprofit groups that use the event as a fundraiser never exceed more than 14,478 ducks into the river.

"We're absolutely stunned. We never thought we would see this day," said Lisa Konicki, the chamber president. "It's exciting."

So why the huge increase?

Konicki said there's not just one reason, as every event the chamber has been sponsoring lately as seen big increases in interest and community support.

"People have so much pent-up energy and they want to do things they feel they have been missing," she said.

In addition, she said the schools and other groups that receive $2.85 for each $5 duck they sell had seen many of their own fundraising efforts canceled over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She also pointed out the price of sponsoring a duck and having a chance to win one of 100 prizes, including the grand prize, has not increased since the event began. The sponsor of the winning duck can choose between a seven-day trip for four to Disney World — which includes airfare, five days of Park Hopper passes and accommodations at one of Disney's All-Star hotels — or $2,500 in cash.

The rubber ducks are each numbered to identify the sponsor. Oil booms are used to guide the ducks to the finish line and, at the end of the race, all the ducks are collected from the river to be reused the next year.

"It's local. It's inexpensive and it's fun," Konicki said. "I don't know if this will be the new normal." 

As of Tuesday afternoon, she said there were about 550 ducks left for sale and she typically sells 500 on the day of the race.

"So we will sell out," she said.

Konicki explained that the event is not a windfall for the chamber, as it keeps just $2.15 from the sale of each duck but has to pay for all the costs of the event, including event coordination, printing, police, insurance, permitting, advertising and staff time.

In 2020, she said, the chamber incurred about $20,000 in expenses before the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

She said the chamber paid all those bills, "So this is helping compensate for the losses two years ago."

The event also was canceled last year due to the pandemic. 

Anyone interested in sponsoring a duck can go to the chamber office at 1 Chamber Way, Westerly, and purchase one using cash or a check. There will also be ducks on sale Saturday before the race begins.

The event gets underway at 11:30 a.m. with games, food and children's activities in the lot at Donahue Park in Pawcatuck, followed by the 1 p.m. corporate race involving 150 ducks. Then at 1:30 p.m., a bucket loader will dump the remaining 19,850 ducks into the water, and a large crowd will watch them float down the river to the finish line.

j.wojtas@theday.com