To the Editor:

The Newtown Lions Club is excited to announce that its ever-popular annual Great Pootatuck Duck Race will be held on Saturday, June 25, in Sandy Hook Center in the park behind the Foundry.

The hometown, family-friendly event will feature a day of free children’s activities, entertainment, exhibitors, and of course the duck race raffle with 20 prize packages for lucky winners ($4,725 in prizes), all on the beautiful banks of the Pootatuck River.

The fun will begin at 11 am and the finale will be at 2:30 pm, when thousands of numbered rubber ducks will “dive” off the Church Hill Road bridge into the Pootatuck River. Prizes will be awarded to those holding tickets corresponding with the numbers of the first 20 ducks to reach the finish line. Should weather interfere, the raffle winners will be drawn from a bin of ticket stubs, or the race will be conducted on another date without the surrounding festival.

Duck Race tickets are still just $5 per rubber duck and will be available starting on April 15 at area businesses and newtownlions.org. For weekly sales locations, check the Newtown Lions Facebook page. Exhibitor and vendor spaces are available to nonprofits for $10 and businesses for $100. Contact Duck Race Chair Bob Schmidt via e-mail at: serenitysh@yahoo.com — or by calling 203-426-1222.

The Club is grateful to Newtown residents and businesses who have supported the Duck Race for 20 years, raising over $211,000 for local charities. This year, we recognize and deeply appreciate the following area businesses for donating prizes:

Barnwood Grill, BD Provisions, Berkshire Motors, Big Y, Blue Colony Diner, Butcher’s Best, Carminuccios Pizza, Cover Two Grill, Edmond Town Hall Theatre, Farmhouse Restaurant, Figs Restaurant, Fun Kuts, Gino’s Parlor of Sandy Hook, Lucas Local Restaurants, Marketplace Restaurant, My Place Restaurant, Nassar’s Hair Salon, NYA, Pizza Palace, Pleasant Paws Pet Center, Porco Karate Academy, Sabrina Style, Sal e Pepe’s Restaurant, Sandy Hook Diner, Superior Cleaners, The Little Theater, The Newtown Bee, The Villa Restaurant, and Toy Tree.

We will soon announce via The Newtown Bee and Facebook the generous local venues where Duck tickets can be purchased. Businesses and others interested in exhibiting or helping are always welcome and can contact me.

Stay tuned for more information in The Bee as well. The Lions are looking forward to seeing the whole town by the Pootatuck on June 25.

Bob Schmidt, LPC

Newtown Lions Club Duck Race Chair