Raritan River Festival and rubber duck race in New Brunswick.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- An ongoing drought has lowered the Raritan River but it was still deep enough for the rubber ducks.
The 2015 Raritan River Festival and Rubber Duck Race at Boyd Park had music, painting, crafts, food and drink, all to raise money for cancer research.
Booths were set up to distribute educational materials and to show people how to go green.
One of the highlights of the event was the cardboard canoe race. Contestants make canoes out of recycled cardboard and a few other items. Then they raced on the river.
"What's Next," piloted by Raj Malhotra, won the race, with several other boats sinking. Some captains, with lifejackets on, quickly discovered that the water was cold.
This year 4,000 rubber ducks, at $5 per duck, were dropped from an egg 40 feet above the river and floated to the finish line.
"The Beez Foundation uses the money raised by the duck race to fund pediatric brain cancer research," said Joe Giardina, chairman of the festival.
The foundation is named after Giardina's daughter, Jennifer Beisswanger, who was called "Beez." Beisswanger died of brain cancer in 2001.
In 10 years, they have raised $285,000.
"We have two studies in clinical trials," said Giardina. "It helps mitigate the grief."
Ed Murray may be reached at emurray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Ed on Twitter at @EdMurrayphoto. Find NJ.COM on Facebook.