Hundreds of people from Newtown and beyond gathered at Sandy Hook Center for the 26th Annual Great Pootatuck Duck Race, hosted by Newtown Lions Club, on Saturday, June 13.

The Great Pootatuck Duck Race is a long-standing Newtown tradition where people buy yellow rubber ducks to race against each other in the Pootatuck River, all while raising funds for the community. Proceeds from the raffle tickets support Lions Club charities for the blind and vision impaired, guide dog training, and free annual vision screenings for over 1,500 children in Newtown.

Much like previous years, there was a wide variety of family-friendly activities for people to enjoy, from visiting local vendors and playing mini golf to petting therapy dogs and listening to live music. Performers for the day included Lathrop School of Dance, Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice, Porco Karate Academy, singer-guitarists Charlotte & Kerriann Cartelli, and Suzuki Music Studio.

Attendees could even pick up an exhibitor passport upon arrival. The passport featured checkboxes that people could fill in for each exhibitor they visited. If someone received a star sticker from all the exhibitors, they could bring their passport to the stage and immediately receive a prize; they could even submit it before a certain time for a chance to win four other prizes.

This year's duck race was particularly special, as it came with several innovations, according to Newtown Lions Club member Arnie Berman.

The first is that they decided to have their first ever Business Duck Derby, in addition to the main duck race. A total of 51 ducks, purchased by local businesses to support Newtown Lions Club, raced against each other. Each duck had the logo of the business that sponsored it. The winner for the Business Duck Derby was Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital, which sponsored three ducks. All of the businesses that sponsored a duck got to keep them.

"It's not a raffle or anything like that, it was just a chance for local businesses to do something good for the community, and they stepped up in a big way," Berman explained.

The other big innovation had the event celebrate America's 250th anniversary. Berman said the Lions wanted to celebrate their country's birthday in a fun, "uniquely duck" way.

Newtown Lion Jeff Strain became "John Hanquack" for the special occasion, sporting a duck costume and a full colonial outfit. He even wore yellow face paint, along with a giant orange beak that flapped as he read the "Ducklaration of Independence."

"Thomas Jefferson's gravestone says stuff like, founder of the University of Virginia, author of the Declaration of Independence ... I'm going to have 'author of the Ducklaration of Independence' on mine," Berman joked.

This year's Great Pootatuck Duck Race was a big success for the Lions, as Berman said they sold more than 1,500 ducks. In total, the Lions raised over $25,000 from the event this year — almost doubling what was raised last year, according to Duck Race co-chair Bob Schmidt.

Duck Race Winners

The 2026 Newtown Lions Club Duck Race list of prizes and winners is as follows:

John Hauck, a luxury weekend getaway at Hopkins Inn, a $150 gift card for their restaurant, and a gift card for $350; Tony Chory, three one-month memberships to Porco Karate; Crystal Boyce, a weekend getaway at Steamboat Inn, Mystic; Bob Comfort, one dozen bagels a month for a year from Bagel Delight; and Jack Shpunt, a $100 Sal e Pepe gift card, a $100 Cork n Barrel gift card, and a $50 My Place Restaurant gift card.

Also Michael Savinelli, a $100 HillTop Kitchen gift card and a $100 Pizza Palace gift card; Denise Strong, a $100 check from Landau Team @RE/MAX Right Choice and a $100 Berkshire Motors gift card; T. Kelly, a $100 Sabrina Style gift card and a $75 Mexcla gift card; Rachel Berliner, a $100 Sugo Gastrobar gift card and a $75 Tambascio’s gift card; and Emily Litke, a $75 Barnwood Restaurant gift card, a $50 Marketplace gift card, and a $25 Cover Two Restaurant gift card.

Also Marvin Latimore, a $50 Mangia Mi East gift card, a $50 Burgerittoville gift card, and a $25 Cover Two Restaurant gift card; Marcia S. Barbara, $100 Edmond Town Hall tickets to a live show and a $25 Carminuccio’s gift card; Tim Swee, a $50 Gino's Parlor gift card, a $50 Mangia Mi East gift card, and a $20 Organic Dry Cleaners gift card; Gary Tannebaum, a $50 Jewel of Himalaya gift card and a $40 Nostrano’s gift card; and Walt Schweikert, a $25 Taco Dia gift card, a $25 Sweet Mango gift card, and a $25 Butcher's Best gift card.

Also Christina Hine, a $50 one-year subscription to The Newtown Bee and a $20 Organic Dry Cleaners gift card; Scott Baggett, two tickets to any show at The Little Theater; Laura Ryan, a $50 My Place Restaurant gift card; Kelly Goodridge, a $25 Toy Tree gift card and a $20 Organic Dry Cleaners gift card; and E. Laverty, a $25 Cover Two Restaurant gift card and a $20 Organic Dry Cleaners gift card.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.