Q. What do you get when you mix ducks and July Fourth?
A. Fire-quackers!
Ba-dum bump! Thank you, you’ve been a great audience! I’m here all week!
But seriously, folks. When you mix ducks, July Fourth and Blairstown, you get the legendary Duck Derby, capping off a day of fun at Footbridge Park.
The Blairstown Fourth committee was able to wedge the event between the weekend storms that brought down trees and power lines across the North Warren area. The Independence Day celebration offered a respite for the many people who lost electricity during the widespread storms.
In addition to the Duck Derby, in which more than 2,000 rubber ducks were released in the Paulins Kill River, the day featured a live frog jump contest. The Blairstown Fourth committee is proud to boast that the Footbridge Park event is the only one of its kind in the entire state of New Jersey.
And as usual, the frogs were supplied by the mysterious Frogman, the anonymous frog wrangler who captures the cold-blooded creatures, then releases them to their native habitat afterward.
“It was a great day at the park, and we celebrated in style,” said Blairstown Township Committeewoman Karen Lance, one of the organizers of the event. “Thank you so much to all of our sponsors, donors, vendors, and most of all, our guests.”
Sponsored by the Blairstown Rotary, the Duck Derby raises thousands of dollars for the organization’s charities, including scholarships, donations to non-profit community groups and support for local first responders.
In case you ducked out early or haven’t been contacted yet by the rotary, here are the winning paddlers:
1st place No. 0585— $2,000 Visa Gift Card.
2nd place No. 0282 — $1,000 Visa Gift Card.
3rd place No. 1268 — $500 Visa Gift Card.
4th place No. 0884 — $350 Visa Gift Card.
5th place No. 0847 — $250 Visa Gift Card.
The Rotary also sponsored the previous evening’s fireworks at North Warren Regional High School, an event that also was able to duck the storms.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
