If you go
What: Duck Day & Festival
When: June 3, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where: Maple and Water streets
More info: The Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce will host its 13th annual Duck Day & Festival featuring entertainment, rides and vendors. The annual duck race starts at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.duckday.com.
NAUGATUCK — The forecast for this weekend calls for ducks — rubber ducks that is — and lots of them.
The Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce will host its 13th annual Duck Day & Festival Sunday on Maple and Water streets. The festivities will get started at 11 a.m. and go until 4 p.m.
The event draws throngs of people downtown every year.
“The joy that Duck Day brings to everyone is what makes it such a special event. The kids’ excitement, everyone in awe of the thousands of ducks that get dropped into the Naugatuck River, the strolling entertainment that is impressive to so many,” Naugatuck Chamber Director Courtney Ligi said.
The festival features live entertainment, food trucks and craft vendors, carnival rides, children’s games, circus performers, and more.
The highlight of the day is the annual duck race. Thousands of rubber ducks will be dumped into the Naugatuck River from the Whittemore Bridge at 2 p.m. The first 25 rubber ducks to cross the finish will win prizes for their ticket holders. The grand prize is $5,000.
Duck race tickets are $5 each. Tickets are available through about 90 local nonprofit organizations and will be sold during the festival. For a complete list on nonprofits selling tickets, visit www.duckday.com.
The race is a fundraiser for the nonprofits, which keep half of the proceeds from the tickets they sell. Over the past 12 years, more than 260 nonprofits have received more than $365,000 by selling tickets, according to the chamber.
The festival will feature some new attractions this year, including a slime station for children to create their own slime. Children can also explore an Army helicopter along with a crane and firetruck this year.
Ligi said the collaboration of many people makes duck day an event that the community looks forward to every year.
“The overwhelming support of the town, business community, volunteers, the chamber staff and the nonprofits work tirelessly on this event every year, and that’s what makes it so special,” she said.
For more information, call the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce at 203-729-4511, or visit www.duckday.com.
