The festival is a celebration in Downtown West Monroe with live music, carnival rides, artisan vendors and makers, live duck races, a rubber duck drop in the Ouachita River, and previously, a large rubber Mama Duck that’s as tall as a six-story building. In the past, Mama Duck was the main attraction during the festival. It became common for visitors and guests to the festival to stop near her to take a photo of her, maybe even with her while standing in the front and exclaiming, “That’s a big duck,” because she is!

Mama Duck won’t be in attendance for the 2026 Ouachita RiverFest. She’s allowing festival royalty to shine while she takes her break.

The festival introduced the Miss Ouachita RiverFest Pageant for young women in the community to be part of a new tradition. The competition consisted of more than 20 contestants from across the region. After the completion of the inaugural pageant, the newly crowned title holders in five different age divisions will reign as Tiny Miss, Little Miss, Petite Miss, Junior Miss, and Miss Ouachita RiverFest.

The first-ever RiverFest queens were crowned ahead of the 2026 festival:
Miss Ouachita RiverFest – Makenzie Joyner
Junior Miss - Sims May
Petite Miss - Carleigh Self
Little Miss - Evan Grace Williams
Tiny Miss - Ruth Meador

A lot of “firsts” keeps coming with this year’s festival! The Ouachita RiverFest is welcoming runners to join them for the first-ever Ouachita RiverFest 5K Duck Dash. It’s a timed race that will loop from Downtown West Monroe to Lazarre Park and back on the second day of the festival. Duck fans are encouraged to look their best and wear their most creative duck inspired outfit to win a prize! The awards feature medals for age groups and best duck costume.

One of the most exciting traditions of the festival is the Ouachita RiverFest Duck Drop, which is a special event where the community is encouraged to adopt rubber ducks for $5 each. The goal is to reach 4,000 adopted ducks, and the grand finale of The Duck Drop happens when the rubber ducks are released into the Ouachita River and race to the finish line for first ($1000), second ($500) and third ($250) place prizes!

For duck lovers who also like checking out clean rides, the 5th Annual Full Blown Pink Car Show, hosted by The Muffler Shop, in conjunction with Ouachita RiverFest, will showcase classic cars, custom builds and show-stopping rides to support breast cancer awareness.

Duck fans can get down to music styles such as Zydeco, juke, high-energy jazz, songs that can connect a crowd, blues, and swamp-pop! Confirmed headliners include Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Shinyribs, Alexey Marti and the ULM Jazz Ensemble, Chancie Neal and Dustin Dale Gaspard and the Rockin’ Babines. More entertainment at the Ouachita RiverFest features the Twin City Jamboree Legacy Show, Averyal Goyne, Louisiana Lunachicks (Mrs. Roper walking parade grand marshal), Booth Buys and DJ Daryl.

In 2026, The City of West Monroe and Downtown West Monroe celebrated Ouachita RiverFest receiving the Louey Award for Festival/Event of the Year by the Louisiana Travel Association at its Annual Meeting in Lafayette, Louisiana. The award is a reminder of the how the festival has grown into an event that shines a light on local businesses, artists and draws visitors from across the state and the region. The Louisiana Travel Association judged the festival based on its event growth, special promotions, contribution to the boosting of the local economy and community involvement.

Come April 25 & 25, the community and visitors enjoying their spring vacations can see the new Ouachita RiverFest queens in their crowns, walk through unique rides during the car show, shop from artisans and watch thousands of yellow rubber ducks drop into the Ouachita RiverFest and race towards the finish line.