Great Pootatuck Duck Race Set For Saturday, May 28

The Great Pootatuck Duck Race, sponsored by the Newtown Lions Club, will be held on Saturday, May 28, at the bridge in Sandy Hook Center. Although the rubber ducks will not be dumped into the Pootatuck until 2 pm, the activities begin at 10 am. The bulk of the activities will take place in Mike Porco’s newly developed large lot on Glen Road.

Plenty of food and entertainment will enliven the day including a Moon Bounce for children. At 10:30, students and instructors of the Newtown Karate Academy will demonstrate their skills at the stage in the Glen that Mr Porco has erected. Eric Bagger will be singing from that stage, as well, all during the day.

Stardusters from the Lathrop School of Dance will perform at 1:30 pm. The Newtown High School Orchestra will play during the day.

Magicians, musicians, and face painters will wend their way through the crowd. Mike Kerler, owner of Sandy Hook Wine and Liquor, will be hosting a wine tasting. Michael Kelley will make dog tags for people who have medical issues or for people who just want to have one for fun.

In this lot there will be many booths of Newtown organizations handing information about their clubs or selling their wares. Among the groups are Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown, Flagpole Photographers, Sandy Hook Fire Department, VFW Auxiliary, Newtown Historical Society, Kevin’s Community Center, Newtown Youth Services, Democratic Town Committee, Republican Town Committee, Visiting Nurse Association, Al’s Trail, Newtown Lions Club, Tercentennial Committee, Canine Advocates, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Relay For Life, Newtown Ambulance, Wendy and Cathy Jewelers, Family Counseling Center, FISH, Boy Scout Troop 270, and Home Instead Senior Care.

After the ducks float down the Pootatuck to the Dayton Street Bridge, the ticket holders of the first 15 ducks to pass the goal will win prizes. Once again, the first prize is a Cub Cadet Tractor from Newtown Power Equipment, second prize is a weekend in New York including hotel and theater tickets, and third prize is a video game system valued at $300. These three prizes were so popular other years that it was decided to offer them again.

Other prizes include a two-year subscription to The Bee and dinners at various restaurants, a beautiful Betty Christensen framed print, ten movie tickets to the Edmond Town Hall, a one-year family pool pass, two haircuts or a cut and color job at Nasser’s Hair Salon and tanning time.

Tickets, which cost $5 each, can be purchased at the Duck Race or from members of the Newtown Lions Club. They are also on sale at the C.H. Booth Library, the Drug Center, The Gym at Newtown, the Yankee Liquor Store, Dr Young’s office and Dr Gellert’s office. In Sandy Hook Center tickets may be found at Coach’s Deli, Sandy Hook Liquor, Sandy Hook Barbershop, and Mocha Coffee Shop.

All profits will go toward replacing all 411 theater seats on the main level of the Edmond Town Hall. If there are general questions about the Tercentennial Great Pootatuck Duck Race, call chairman Jerry Cole at 426-4529. Anyone who would like to have a booth should call Gordon Williams at 426-6443.