BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A family favorite event returns to Raleigh County.

In the spring of 2021, the United Way of Southern West Virginia put together a rubber duck race, in place of their annual Dancing with the Stars event, in an effort to accommodate the restrictions put in place during the pandemic.

Dancing with the Stars returned in 2022. But, executive director Trena Dacal said the rubber duck race was a widely successful event, so much so they decided to bring it back once again.

“It is just a fun event to have. To pivot last year– to kind of get away from our large-scale event that brought a lot of people together we were looking for something that was more covid friendly we found the rubber duck race which was a lot of fun, very family-friendly,” said Dacal.

This year though, the ducks are out of the water, as the cold temperatures would make for a frozen race. Instead, the event is a polar pluck, where one lucky duck chosen out of a pile of five thousand will win the grand prize of four thousand dollars. Second place gets you a handful of ducks for next year’s event.

Dacal said the event takes place on December 31, 2022, at three in the afternoon.

All of the proceeds go towards the community of Southern West Virginia, so be sure to adopt a duck.