ELWOOD, Ind. — A craze among Jeep owners and enthusiasts made its way to Indiana over the weekend.

An event Saturday at the Elwood Public Library tapped into the rubber duck decorating craze. The creations could then be shared as gifts or kept as souvenirs.

The idea for the event, according to organizer Daikan Metz, came from the trend of “Jeep ducking” — which began in Canada when a woman named Allison Parliament bought a rubber duck at a convenience store, wrote a kind message on it, and placed it on the hood of a Jeep. The movement soon made its way to the United States.

“I think it is awesome,” said Robin Taylor, who brought her granddaughter, Ellie Hunsberger to the library for the afternoon. “I think it is amazing that a girl could come up with an idea that could catch on all around the world. I do not think she got enough credit or publicity for what she created. Every Jeep you see, there are ducks lined up on it.”

Metz said inviting people to craft their own “duck-orations” was an ideal activity to begin a new year of library programming. He said more than 50 people expressed interest in the event.

“This is our first program and it was supposed to be something silly to do,” he said.

Brandy Collyear brought her daughter, Eva Leyman, and Penelope Bartolacci, an exchange student from Italy she is hosting, to the event after making a spur-of-the-moment decision.

“We were watching a movie, and I was like ‘Hey, you girls want to go decorate ducks?’” Collyear said. “They were both like, ‘Sure.’ We have been to a couple of the library programs and they have always been fun.”

Collyear said she doesn’t own a Jeep herself, but her mother was familiar with the “Jeep ducking” phenomenon.

“I think it is kind of cool,” she said. “Each thing has its own culture, like if you are a motorcycle rider, they have a special wave. I think it is cool. It is a way to connect to the community.”

Collyear mentioned that her daughter’s cheerleading squad started putting miniature ducks on clothespins with good luck messages written on them. They would pin them onto other cheerleaders’ backpacks from other schools unnoticed.

Metz said he would be happy to do the event again if people wanted it to happen.

“I am happy with the outcome,” Metz said. “We had 17 or 18 people show up. If we have enough interest, if people say ‘Hey, I was hoping to make it to your program but just could not make it.’ That always happens after the fact. I would probably do it again if there was interest.”

The Elwood Public Library is hosting a “Zombie Escape Room” toward the end of January. More information and other events can be found here: https://elwood.lib.in.us/events