By Salida Sunrise Rotary

Each year, Salida Sunrise Rotary brings the community together for three signature fundraising events: the Home and Outdoor Expo, the Lucky Ducky Race, and Holiday Park. Each is a chance to have fun, support local businesses and causes, and invest in the next generation of Salida students.

Home and Outdoor Expo

Every April, the Chaffee County Fairgrounds fills with vendors, visitors, and plenty to see and try. The Home and Outdoor Expo gives local businesses a place to demonstrate and sell their products to the community. The range is wide, from kitchen gadgets to RVs, trucks, and trailers, so there's something for nearly every household and every kind of adventure.

Attendees can also take in seminars on a wide variety of topics, making the Expo a place to learn as well as shop. The event also gives Salida Sunrise Rotary a chance to promote the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children from birth to age five. Rotarians are on hand to share how local families can sign up.

Lucky Ducky Race

Each August, the Arkansas River next to Riverside Park in Salida becomes a racecourse for dozens of rubber ducks. These aren't ordinary ducks. They are creatively decorated and sponsored by local businesses and individuals, which makes the field as entertaining to look at as it is to watch float downstream.

Multiple citizen's races are held throughout the event, and attendees get a chance to win cash prizes. Between the festive atmosphere, the clever duck designs, and the thrill of cheering on your duck, the race has become a summer favorite for families and friends.

Holiday Park

When the holiday season arrives, Riverside Park becomes a forest of Christmas trees. Holiday Park invites community members to sponsor and put up a tree that stays up through the long holiday season. Sponsors choose their own ornaments and decorations, and the results are as varied as the people behind them.

Many trees promote nonprofits and other worthwhile causes. Others honor community members who have passed, turning the park into a place of remembrance as well as celebration. Some of the most memorable trees are decorated with suggestions and compassionate ideas from elementary school children, adding a special kind of heart to the display.

Where the Money Goes

The proceeds from these three events go right back into the community. About two thirds of the money raised funds college scholarships for students from Salida. Since 2014, Salida Sunrise Rotary has raised approximately $259,000 for scholarships, helping local graduates take their next step.

The remaining third goes to community grants, mostly to nonprofits such as the Boys and Girls Club and the Scouts. Every booth hosted, duck sponsored, and tree decorated helps make that support possible.

Get Involved

Salida Sunrise Rotary welcomes new volunteers, sponsors, and members. Whether you run a business, want to sponsor a duck, or have a tree idea in mind, there's a place for you in these events and in the work they make possible.