Outings: Deming

And They're Off!

No quest to attend each of New Mexico’s hometown festivals would be complete without a trip to the Great American Duck Race, in Deming, 60 miles west of Las Cruces off I-10. The four-day event includes a dance, parade, and hot-air balloon ascension, along with the crowd-pleasing Great American Outhouse Race—where human entrants modify new porta-potties into rickshaw-like contraptions, which they race along a street—and the duck races themselves.

At the races, a county-fair atmosphere prevails—craft and food booths, live entertainment, and carnival rides are all on hand. My friend and I head to the main event where we, just like any other participant, can borrow a duck to race.

I eagerly wait in line and pay a small entry fee. Then a five-year-old girl charged with rounding up the mallards shoves a duck into my hands. Only then, clutching the struggling bird around its wings, does it occur to me: I haven’t the slightest idea how to race a duck. 

The bird turns his head and eyes me suspiciously. His mind made up, he begins quacking and thrashing around. As I march around the wet track to the dry one (there are water and land races), I speak softly to calm him. Then, I begin encouraging him. A few members of the crowd—who are munching on roast turkey legs and funnel cake—overhear my pep talk and chuckle.

We place our ducks at the start of 10-foot-long chutes. At the horn, the other participants shout and bang the ground to spur their ducks to the finish. My soothed duck, however, has settled down and is just tucking his beak under his wings for a nap. I give him a nudge to shoo him along. Begrudgingly, he rises and waddles to join his flock. The winners of our heat, and all those leading up to the finals, take home a cash prize.

I may not have a future on the professional duck-racing circuit, but the lively atmosphere at this family-friendly event will bring me back for another try.

Free to watch. Luna County Courthouse Park, at Pine Street and Gold Avenue, (888) 345-1125, www.demingduckrace.com. The Great American Duck Race is held the fourth weekend in August. This year, it will be held August 25–28.—Ashley M. Biggers