Barbara Lawlor
NEDERLAND

    At 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon, a bag of big ducks and bag of about 400 plucky little green turtles were emptied into middle Boulder Creek. The entry took place just before the highway bridge in the middle of town. The release was a quiet event, as most of the spectators were gathered at the weir bridge at the Barker Reservoir inlet, waiting to see their entries arrive.
    The white water frothed against the creek shores. The big ducks bobbed determinedly down the middle of the creek while the smaller, less goal-oriented turtles spun and meandered, going with the flow. Some of them got mired in the branches that had been caught off shore. Some of them lolly-gagged in the eddies behind rocks. Most of them paddled valiantly for the dam.
    A group of men in wading boots and long poled nets made their way into the springmelt water hurtling towards the concrete dam, the spillover roaring into the reservoir. Spectators lined up along the shore, all eyes looking west, upstream.
    The Nederland Turtle Float, sponsored by and benefiting the Over the Rainbow Pre-school has become an annual event during the Nederland Arts Festival. Each turtle floater is numbered and when the critters are collected they are put into a plastic pool and plucked out, the lucky winners getting to choose one of the 30 great prizes donated by local businesses. Local turtle float announcer Dave Felkley kept the eager crowd entertained.
    The ducks represent local businesses who do not win prizes but revel in the knowledge they have good fast-duck picking sense. The business winners were Back Country Pizza, Dog House Video, Wild Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery, Eco Ditty and Shining Star Restaurant.
    About 350 people bought a turtle and had a chance to win an Eldora season pass, an oil change, a golden ticket for a carousel ride, and a bunch of other great prizes.
    Before the float finished and the fans left, one lone turtle was seen headed upstream in a strange current occurrence. There’s just no telling what will happen in a turtle float.