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Wicker baskets full of yellow plastic ducks have appeared in the windows of Quogue Village businesses over the past few weeks. The ducks, according to Lily Pad consignment shop owner Theresa Fontana, are being sold to raise funds for the Quogue Association’s scholarship fund.
“I love my village,” Ms. Fontana said in her store on a recent Thursday afternoon. “I jumped at the opportunity to help.”
By purchasing a duck for $5 per entry, contributors will be entered into the village’s first—of what they hope will be an annual—rubber duck race. On August 12, as many as 1,000 plastic ducks will be dumped off the Quogue Bridge into the Quogue Canal to take part in a race to the village dock, according to Quogue Association member Cecelia Lazarescu. The fun begins at 5 p.m.
“It’s a fantastic thing,” Ms. Lazarescu said. “It’s helping out the community and scholarship fund.”
Those who purchase a duck are asked to write their name and phone number on the bottom of the duck with a Sharpie marker that is attached to the baskets. Each establishment that sells the ducks has a different color marker, and according to Ms. Fontana, the store that sold the first duck to cross the finish line will be awarded $100.
For those who purchase the winning ducks, first prize will earn $1,250, second prize $750 and third place $250.
Ms. Fontana said that Ms. Lazarescu contacted her at the beginning of May, hoping that she could help locate 1,000 plastic ducks to sell as a part of the fundraiser, since the consignment shop owner had already sold ducks in her stores.
“I got them from the city,” Ms. Fontana said, referring to her ducks. “I’ve always sold ducks. Everything in Quogue is just ducky.”
The ducks can be purchased at the Lily Pad, Quogue Market and Beth’s Cafe, a new luncheonette located across the street from the Inn at Quogue on Quogue Street. Ms. Lazarescu said that members of the association also hope to place baskets of ducks at the various beach clubs in the village and at the Quogue Field Club, over the next few weeks.
“There will be plenty of opportunities to buy the ducks,” Ms. Lazarescu said, adding that quack packs—or five ducks for $20—are also available at the participating businesses.
To “keep the ducks honest,” a community member—possibly Ms. Lazarescu’s husband, Village Justice Alan Lazarescu—will paddle alongside the ducks in a kayak to ensure that none enter the race from other locations along the canal.
“That way no one can put in a duck further down the canal,” Ms. Lazarescu explained. “And we know that the tide is going the right way.”
The village dock will also host the association’s August summer gathering, complete with a reggae band, according to Ms. Lazarescu.
“Lots of people will be there,” she added. “The ducks are a way to bring the community together.”
