Naugatuck going to the ducks

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Rubber ducks are dumped off the Whittemore Bridge in Naugatuck to start the duck race last year. –FILE PHOTO
Rubber ducks are dumped off the Whittemore Bridge in Naugatuck to start the duck race last year. –FILE PHOTO

NAUGATUCK — The ducks are preparing to make a splash in Naugatuck.

The Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce’s 9th annual Duck Day and Race will take place from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. June 1 on Maple and Water streets in downtown Naugatuck.

The day’s main event, the duck race, will begin at 2 p.m.

About 20,000 rubber ducks will be dumped from the Whittemore Bridge into the Naugatuck River. After landing in the river, the ducks will race towards the finish line.

The duck race is a raffle and each duck has a number on the bottom. The first ducks through the finish line will win prizes for their ticket-holders. The race is also a fundraiser as local nonprofit organizations have been selling tickets. The organizations receive a portion of their ticket sales.

First prize in the duck race is $5,000. Other prizes include a diamond tennis bracelet and $500 gift certificates to the Brass Mill Center and Commons gift certificate and Roma’s Ristorante.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Corso Printing & Engraving, Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppes, Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan, the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce, the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce and at the event until 1:30 p.m.

Duck Day will also feature a haunted house and a costume contest as part of the event’s “Halloween in June.” Prizes will be given out for the best costume for children, students in each grade from kindergarten through 12th, and adults. A prize will also be given out for the best duck costume. Those wishing to participate can register at the costume tent between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Live music will be provided by the Rubber City Blues Band and Blue Union.

The day will also feature a dunk where people will have a chance to dunk Naugatuck Tax Collector Jim Goggin, Naugatuck High School science teacher Marc Pardee, Ion Bank’s Allan Monteiro, and Rima McGeehan, principal of Community and Algonquin schools in Prospect.

For more information, visit www.duckday.com.