What's with the ducks at Daytona Jeep Beach?
Tens of thousands of Jeeps are on the road this week in Daytona Beach, as the annual Jeep Beach celebration rolls into its 21st year at the World’s Most Famous Beach.
That’s a lot of Jeeps, but it undoubtedly pales against the population figure of the brand’s most identifiable fashion accessory.
Ducks.
Yes, if you’re looking at a Jeep this week, you’re almost certainly also looking at a plastic or rubber duck, more than likely a flock of them. They come in all colors and sizes, whether it’s a menagerie lined up by the dozen on a dashboard or a lone oversized quacker riding shotgun parade-float style on a roof.
For those not immersed in the Jeep culture, the main question is ‘Why?’
How did the Jeep duck thing start?
By all accounts, based on an assortment of posts and stories on Jeep-related websites, the duck phenomenon, known as “Jeep Ducking,” began in Ontario, Canada, in the pandemic year of 2020.
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There, a Jeep owner decided to do something to brighten both her and a stranger’s day. She went and bought a rubber ducky, put the duck on a nearby Jeep. And, yes, it caught on.
What does it mean?
It’s simply a gesture of friendship.
As an example, that was the motivation at Jeep Beach two years ago for Jeep owner Jamie Pilgrim, who arrived from South Carolina equipped with some 200 small rubber ducks for his 6-year-old daughter to distribute during the family’s Daytona Beach visit.
He described the ducks as a happy symbol of the big-hearted nature of the Jeep community.
“If you broke down on this beach, most of the people out here would jump right in to help you,” he told The News-Journal. “If you were out in the woods and posted that you were stuck, someone would go out of their way to help you. What other car culture does that?”
How big a deal is Jeep Ducking among Jeep owners?
On social media, the hashtag #duckduckjeep has been used on more than 284,000 posts on Instagram.
There also are nearly three dozen Jeep Ducking-related Facebook pages, including a public group with 134,000 members, an “official” page with 77,000 members and a Florida-based private group with 29,000 members.
What do others say about ‘ducking’ at Jeep Beach?
At last year’s event, Jeep owner Blake Jacobs, of Charlotte, North Carolina, talked about the oversized duck decked out in stars and stripes affixed to the roof of his 2022 Gladiator Rubicon.
It was a tribute to law enforcement and firefighters, he said.
“I saw that duck online and I said, ‘I have to have it,’” said Jacobs, 32, a long-haul trucker. “I was a fire-fighter for 10 years and I know a bunch of cops. I want to show my support.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 'Jeep Ducking' is a big deal at Jeep Beach Daytona. Here's the reason.
