Ducks to be Unleashed on the Naugatuck River

The 7th Annual Naugatuck Duck Day & Race is almost here.

The downtown event, which , begins at 11 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 3.

Maple and Water streets are closed off to traffic, as well as the Whittemore Bridge leading to the Exit 27 off-ramp on Route 8, due to all of the different activities, events, merchants and food vendors along the streets.

And, of course, the big highlight of the day is the Duck Race at 2 p.m. Residents are able to purchase a rubber duck for $5 — with proceeds going to the Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce — and at the start of the race, a payloader drops the thousands of purchased ducks into the Naugatuck River.

The ducks float down until they reach a finish line. The winning duck nets a $5,000 cash prize to the person who bought it, with other prizes for the second- and third-place winners. 

Courtney Ligi, an event coordinator for Duck Day, highlighted a few important additions to this year’s fesitivities.

• A Halloween in June costume contest. Prizes run as high as $1,000 for the top winner down to $50 for elementary-aged students.
• Best Duck Costume. Residents will have a chance to win $250 by dressing up in a costume that best resembles the day.
• A dunk dank. Several local teachers and officials will be participating in the dunk tank, which is a new addition to this year.

Here is the schedule for which officials will be seated in the dunk tank throughout the day:

12 p.m. - Jan Saam, Naugatuck High School Principal

12:20 p.m. – Tim Walsh, NHS Teacher

12:40 p.m. – Christine Gamari, NHS Teacher

1 p.m. – Kathy Guglielmo, NHS Teacher

1:20 p.m. – John Carino , NHS Teacher

1:40 p.m. – Chip Aldrich, NHS Teacher

2 p.m. closed for Duck Race

2:30 p.m. – Dave Rotatori, Naugatuck Savings Bank

2:50 p.m. – Jim Goggin , Borough of Naugatuck

3:10 p.m. Open for public

For more information, visit www.duckday.org.