Buy a six-quack and watch
On Saturday, May 23, the Downtown Nashua Association will launch what it hopes will become a yearly tradition, a Rubber Duck Regatta on the Nashua River. Participants will be able to purchase rubber ducks from Downtown Nashua. At 3 p.m. the ducks will be set loose in the river. The owners of the first three ducks to cross the finish line downriver will win prizes.
Alyssa O’Mara is the executive director of the Downtown Nashua Association. She said that while this will be the first year there has been a Regatta, rubber duck races have happened in Nashua for many years.
“We were gifted this event from Nashua Rotary West,” she said. “They had been doing this event for many years, but in the last couple of years they stopped doing it. When I took this position, our nonprofit community really stepped up and wanted to support us. [The Rotary Club] was one of the first organizations to do so and said if we wanted this event we could take it over. It’s a long-term community event that people love, and I absolutely jumped on it.”
Rubber Duck Regatta
When: Saturday, May 23, starting at 3 p.m.
Ducks can be purchased on the Downtown Nashua Association’s website at downtownnashua.org/rubber-duck-regatta. Ducks will also be available on site on the day of the event. Single ducks can be purchased for $5 each, six for $25, and 12 for $50. A “flock” of 25 ducks is $100.
So is this just a matter of dropping a few thousand rubber ducks in the river and watching them float downstream? Essentially, yes, O’Mara said.
“The ducks will be released near the area of the footbridge between Cotton Mill and Clocktower Apartments right on the edge of the river. Right now we’re still coordinating with a couple of people on the logistics of whether we’ll use a truck or a crane, but there will be 5,000 ducks launched from that area and they will race down to the bridge over Main Street to the finish line, where we will have catchers there to stop the ducks. The first three that go through will win prizes. First prize is $1,500, second prize is $750 and third prize is $500.”
The ducks will all be tagged with numbers, O’Mara said,
“When you purchase ducks, you will have numbers assigned to those ducks and that’s how we’ll do it. The winner doesn’t have to be there. If your duck is a winner, you win, whether you’re here or even in another state. This first year, we’ve started small with 5,000 ducks, but we’re hoping [this race] will grow and we can do up to 50,000 ducks at some point. Ducks are available for purchase through our website. People can purchase single ducks. They also can purchase a ‘six-quack,’ a ‘quacker’s dozen’ or a whole flock. We’re really pushing teams this year, so if [a group] has a nonprofit locally that they really want to support, they can create a team with that nonprofit name or their group’s name. In addition to our first-, second- and third-place prizes, the team that sells the most ducks will have $2,500 donated to the nonprofit of their choice, local to the Nashua area.”
Given that this is the Regatta’s first year, O’Mara said, sales have been strong. “Sales of ducks for Bridges: Domestic & Sexual Violence Support is definitely in the lead. We’re hoping people will jump on the bandwagon and make some more purchases. But no matter what, we knew that at a max we were probably going to be making the same amount as the nonprofit that we were donating to for this year. So if we can do anything, as long as we can get the prize money for the winners and for the nonprofit that has the highest team sales, we’ll be happy.”
Renaissance on the Riverwalk
Nashua will celebrate the newly renovated Renaissance Park on Water Street and Memorial Day weekend with a four-day event featuring music, kids’ events, food trucks, vendors and more, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.
When: Friday, May 22, with events from 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, May 23, from 2:30 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Monday, May 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Event highlights: On Friday, performances by El Grupo Chevere (5:30 p.m.) and 4R Souls (7:30 p.m.) and a Positive Street Art kids’ art activity. On Saturday, the regatta, Renaissance Park Mural dedication (3:30 p.m.); performances by BailOut (4:30 p.m.), Lisa Love (6 p.m.), 4Play: The Boston Tribute Band (7:30 p.m.) and a drone show and lighted kayak parade on the river (9 a.m.). On Sunday, Nashua Farmers Market (10 a.m.), music, a petting zoo (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and a Nashua Area Artists Association activity. On Monday, a performance by Gary Lopez (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), ballons from Dan’s Balloons (10 a.m to noon) and the Memorial Day Parade down Main Street (10:30 a.m.).
More info: See the mayor’s “Enjoy Nashua” Facebook page.
Featured photo: Courtesy photo