PenDucky Derby

Food Insecurity on Pender

A vibrant cluster of glossy yellow rubber ducks in water, with one prominent duck in the center featuring a Canadian flag design — red and white with a red maple leaf. The other ducks are plain yellow. Bright, cheerful, playful style matching a fun community event.

A Successful 2026 PenDucky Derby

The PenDucky Derby is a Pender Island tradition that was in a bit of a hiatus since 2018. In August of 2026, the Pender Island Food Bank brought back the Duck Derby — it was a fun and very successful event. Those ducks made a great splash. MC’d by DogMermaid Kayak Eco Excursions with ducks courtesy of the Pender Island Lions Club, in 2026 the PenDucky Derby is raising funds for the Pender Island Food Bank.

We had just over 600 ducks plunge off the bridge over the canal this year and race (in a very, very, very relaxed pace) towards Mortimer Spit. More than $6000 was raised to help support the Food Bank

Thank You

A single, slightly larger ‘champion’ rubber duck in sharp focus at the front of a loose group of ducks, all floating in a calm, sunlit cove typical of the Gulf Islands. The champion duck has playful painted wave and star details, symbolizing the winning duck in the PenDucky Derby fundraiser. Behind it, blurred in the distance, a small eco tour boat and colorful paddleboards rest near a rocky shoreline with arbutus trees. Warm afternoon sunlight creates bright highlights and soft shadows on the water and ducks. Photographic realism, shot from a slightly elevated angle using rule-of-thirds composition, conveys a cheerful, celebratory mood anchored in a coastal community setting.

Sponsors & Volunteers

A huge thank you to:

  • the Pender community for buying tickets and coming out to support the Derby
  • Pender Island Lions for generously lending the racing ducks to the Food Bank
  • DogMermaid for helping with logistics and MC’ing the event
  • Sandor and DogMermaid folks for setting out the boom
  • Food Bank volunteers for selling tickets and organizing
  • Talisman, Pender Naturals, Studio B for selling tickets
  • Braedon and Big Dig’Em for launching the ducks off the bridge
  • PIPR for permission to use Mortimer Spit
  • Volunteer kayakers, paddleboarders, and canoeists for fetching ducks, shepherding ducks and generally helping