The 2009 Parkway Festival and Great Duck Derby is scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday in the area between the Adventure Playground and Mike Lansing Field on North Poplar Street.

As always, the Parkway Festival is a great opportunity to enjoy an afternoon along the river for barbecue, microbrew tasting, live music and family fun with friends and family all in support of the Platte River Parkway and the Casper Rotary Club.

"We think it will be a gorgeous day on the river," said Platte River Parkway Trust executive director Angela Emery. "It's the end of summer, we want folks to come enjoy the river and their parkway, have some barbecue, support the Rotary, support the parkway. We feel like this is a community event now."

There is no charge to attend the event and there is separate pricing for those who want to enjoy a barbecue lunch and/or taste the micro-brews. In addition, soft drinks and water will be available to purchase.

The BBQ Feast is back by popular demand. A mouth-watering lunch will be prepared by master grillers from Key Energy, Brett's Butts, Cost Plus Appliances, Hilltop National Bank, GSG Architecture and Haselden Construction.

Emery said the parkway has purchased 800 pounds of meat and the volunteer groups will cook it.

For $12, hungry eaters will enjoy all the barbecue has to offer, including beef tri-tip, smoked ribs, pulled pork, brats, and baked beans and fries.

Petite or youth eaters may want a hamburger or hot dog and chips for $5.

The first 500 people who purchase a lunch will receive a free ticket to the Casper Ghosts game Saturday night just next to the festival.

This year's festival will feature a micro-brew tasting of brews from around the Rocky Mountain Region, including Grand Teton Brewing, Victor, Idaho; Altitudes Brewery, Laramie; Wyoming State Brewing Co., Casper; O'Dell Brewing Co., Victor, Idaho; Snake River Brewing, Jackson; and New Belgium Brewing, Ft. Collins, Colo.

Pricing for the micro-brews remains the same as last year - $3 for a 12-ounce glass. Tasting samples are available for $1 each. And a supply of Mike's Hard Lemonade for lighter palates will sell for $4, according to Emery.

Any profit made from barbecue or beer sales by the Parkway go toward the nearly refurbished Pump House Trails Center, which Emery hopes is complete by October. The center is located on the river on West First Street and will feature rentals for the white water park, as well as rest rooms, a concession area, information about the parkway and a resting point for those enjoying the more than 11 miles of parkway.

"This is our last big push for that project," Emery said.

Family fun options include story telling at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., courtesy of the Natrona County Public Library, as well as balloon tying and face painting.

Live music will be provided by Chad Lore and his band, Free Bier, as well as the Tom Coryell and the Incorrigibles

Reach community news editor Sally Ann Shurmur at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@trib.com. Read Sal's blog at tribtown.trib.com/Sal/blog.

Ducks in the drink

The Parkway Festival is also the site for the finish line of the Casper Rotary Club's Great Duck Derby. Rotarians sell tickets for the numbers carried by darling rubber ducks dumped in the drink at 3 p.m. at Jonah Bank. Ticket numbers correspond to numbers on the ducks, and 120 great prizes, including lots of luxury travel, await the winners as the ducks are plucked out of the river at the finish line.

The five grand prizes are $3,000 cash; five days for four in Hawaii; a cruise for two along Alaska's Inside Passage; four nights for two in New York City or Washington, D.C., and a week for two in Cancun with airfare from Denver to Cancun.

Duck tickets are $20 each, the same price as they have been for all of the 10 years of the event.

Tickets are available at: any First Interstate Bank in Casper; World Wide Travel; Jonah Bank; the festival gate; online at www.casperrotary.org; from any Rotarian; and outside K2 Radio, 150 N. Nichols, Friday morning.

For more information, call 262-1343.

The Parkway Festival is also the site for the finish line of the Casper Rotary Club's Great Duck Derby. Rotarians sell tickets for the numbers carried by darling rubber ducks dumped in the drink at 3 p.m. at Jonah Bank. Ticket numbers correspond to numbers on the ducks, and 120 great prizes, including lots of luxury travel, await the winners as the ducks are plucked out of the river at the finish line.

The five grand prizes are $3,000 cash; five days for four in Hawaii; a cruise for two along Alaska's Inside Passage; four nights for two in New York City or Washington, D.C., and a week for two in Cancun with airfare from Denver to Cancun.

Duck tickets are $20 each, the same price as they have been for all of the 10 years of the event.

Tickets are available at: any First Interstate Bank in Casper; World Wide Travel; Jonah Bank; the festival gate; online at www.casperrotary.org; from any Rotarian; and outside K2 Radio, 150 N. Nichols, Friday morning.

For more information, call 262-1343.]]->