The press release was pretty straightforward: Westport Sunrise Rotary is once again sponsoring the Great Duck Race.
For the 4th straight year, for just $20 you can “sponsor” a duck. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, 3000 ducks — each with a number — will be dropped into the Saugatuck River near the Post Road Bridge. When the booms are pulled away, they’ll “race” 200 feet. (Fear not, Westport: the ducks are made of “an environmentally sensitive compound.”)
If the duck with your number is one of the 1st 10, you’ll win a prize. First prize is a $5,000 Visa gift card; 2nd prize is a $1,000 card, and 3rd through 10th are $500 Visa cards. (You don’t have to be present to win.)
Before and after the Great Duck Race, there’s children’s arts and crafts, face painting, a bounce castle, “duck decorating,” music and food.
The Black Duck -- a perfect spot for the Great Duck Race. (Photo/John Kantor)
Something else caught my eye, though. Among the spots you can buy “duck sponsorships” — Fairfield County and TD Banks, the Russell Agency, any Westport Sunrise Rotary member — is this place: the Black Duck Cafe.
So why isn’t the event taking place there?
Seems like a natural tie-in — particularly with the renaissance of Saugatuck.
And what’s more natural than for the winner of a $5,000 Visa gift card than to spend a tiny bit of it on a round for everyone at Westport’s favorite duck-themed restaurant?
