OSAGE BEACH – Part of the preparations for the First Annual Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop now includes security precautions against scammers.
The Lake Sun Leader reports a woman who thought she bought a rubber duck for the duck drop was actually the victim of a scam. “Unfortunately, we’ve had rumors that there’s been some different activities going on that’s not associated with this event trying to make some money off this event,” said Trish Creach, executive director of the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. As a result, organizers say they’ve put numerous safety precautions in place to protect against fraud, including using weighted ducks from a California vendor that are numbered to correspond to event tickets. Organizers say they are selling tickets, not rubber ducks. “No one will actually have a duck in hand, we keep them in a secret vault and they will not even be brought out until event day,” Creach said. The event takes place Saturday, August 15, beginning at 8 a.m. with a 5k “Duck Waddle” and continues with entertainment and family activities at the Silver Star Campground. Organizers will drop as many as 7,500 rubber ducks from a helicopter, a fire engine and a rescue boat at 2 p.m. The adopter of the first duck to cross the finish line will win a $5,000 prize. It costs $5 to adopt a duck, which are available until noon on Saturday.