West Virginia
United Way of Central WV sells out of ducks for Great Rubber Duck Race 2024
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — As of Friday afternoon, all rubber ducks for the 2024 Great Rubber Duck Race are sold.
The race is an event that helps raise money to be used for the community. Eyewitness News spoke with Margaret O’Neal, president of the United Way of Central West Virginia, shortly after the rubber ducks sold out.
“We’re all a little bit hysterical and in tears because 10,000 ducks is a whole lot, and we have literally sold about 2,500 in the last 24 to 36 hours,” she said.
Selling 10,000 rubber ducks was the goal for the organization.
“We live in a wonderful community and tomorrow when all 10,000 of those ducks get dumped off the south side bridge, everybody that bought one should just know that you contributed to buying shoes for kids and making sure seniors have what they need and that healthcare is accessible and education is important,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal told Eyewitness News volunteers have worked hard to get the ducks ready for their big race on Saturday. She said they rent the rubber ducks from a company.
“We received them in town about three weeks ago from the last race they were in. We take the tags off from that race and then we put new tags on for our race. After they’re dumped off we have a bunch of volunteers, Kanawha River Navy, lots of strong backs that’ll help us get the ducks back out of the water,” O’Neal said.
The first 10 ducks will win prizes, with the first duck winning $4,000. If your duck comes in last, no worries. O’Neal said you will get 25 ducks in next year’s race.
“We didn’t really think we’d get there,” she said. “We didn’t think we’d sell out. It’s just a really happy day for the United Way today.”
The Great Rubber Duck Race will start around noon on Saturday. To see the ducks get dumped into the water, you can sit in the Hadad Riverfront Park stage area.
West Virginia
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West Virginia
Register now: West Virginia’s largest yard sale grows with more Webster County sellers for 2026
Community Bulletin
WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health has opened its 2026 prenatal and pregnancy classes — including Spinning Babies, breastfeeding basics and Lamaze — for expecting Upshur County families, with Lamaze offered in person or online. Read more →
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BUCKHANNON – The West Virginia Largest Yard Sale is getting even larger, with more participants from Webster County this year.
Cadence Ringer, executive director of the Upshur County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the 2026 West Virginia Largest Yard Sale will take place Friday, Aug. 7, and Saturday, Aug. 8. Registration for sellers is now open through July 26 at 11:30 p.m. Registration can be found on the Upshur County Visitor Center’s Facebook page.
“It’s been going wonderfully. As of last Wednesday, we had 30 applicants, and they keep coming in by the day. They are slowly trickling in right now, but I know we’ll have a big burst of them right before the deadline to register,” Ringer said. “The date set for the map to go live is July 31. I like to prepare for it a week in advance, to give people enough time to map out their own plan for their shopping that weekend.”
The map showing where all the sellers will be located will be available digitally this year on the Upshur County Visitor’s Bureau website. The map will also include brief descriptions of the items each yard sale will offer.
“On our registration form, I have asked them to list at least five things they’re going to be selling. Once I get them on the map, there’s an option for me to add details, so if they click on the actual location of the yard sale and read the details at the bottom, it’ll give them an idea of what that yard sale will be offering,” Ringer said. “There won’t be any photos or anything, but people can at least get an idea of what each seller will have.”
The yard sale has expanded over the year, from Upshur to Lewis and now to Webster County.
“We decided last year to add Webster County to this and to try and get them going,” Ringer said, but the numbers were low. “This year, we have had quite a few from Webster County, so I’m excited to actually get it spreading into that area as well.”
She said people who go out to shop are all looking for something different, but you can always find a little bit of everything.
“There are people looking for a lot of clothes. That’s what a lot of people prepare for the upcoming school year by going yard saling,” Ringer said. “I’m a yard saler myself, so I go looking for those hidden treasures, and I really think that’s what this is about — finding things they don’t make anymore, or antiques of some sort, some decorations. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so that’s what it’s about: just finding the treasure.”
Ringer said the event also brings in visitors from outside the area and encourages them to shop and eat at local businesses in Buckhannon.
“I think the most important thing to highlight is that this is a collaboration between the three counties — it drives our economy,” Ringer said. “I know some people see it as annoying that traffic is going on, or that there’s a bunch of people around, but it also gives families the opportunity to buy things secondhand and to prepare for the upcoming school year. Maybe some families can’t afford to purchase new things. It also drives the economic boost for our restaurants and other locations downtown.”
West Virginia
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