You’ve seen them on Facebook, in businesses, at Clarkesville and Cornelia Libraries, and at the annual Mountain Laurel Festival in Clarkesville for the past five years! Large yellow ducks dressed as characters such as Rapunzel, Little Miss Muffet, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Huckleberry Finn, and yes, even Dolly Parton have been the object of exclamation and adoration wherever they are seen.
The Sixth Annual Volunteers for Literacy (VFL) Dec-a-Duck Contest will be held in May, and all duck race sponsors and supporters are eligible to enter. Sponsorships are available beginning at $100. Ducks can be decorated as characters from children’s books, movies, fairy tales, as well as adult books or movies. Or they may be decorated to market a business. Sponsorships are not limited to businesses – individuals are also invited to enter.
This year the Dec-a-Duck Contest will be held several days prior to the Mountain Laurel Festival. Winning ducks will ride in the Mountain Laurel Festival parade. After the parade, all Dec-a-Ducks will be displayed at the VFL tent on East Water Street, where duck race tickets will also be sold. First through third-place ribbons will be awarded for Most Creative Duck, Best All Around Duck, Best Children’s Book/Fairy Tale/Literature Themed Duck, Best Novice Dec a Duck, Best Business Themed Duck, Most Artistic Duck, and People’s Choice.
People’s Choice voting will take place on the VFL Facebook page from Monday, May 10, until 10 p.m. on May 19 and at the VFL booth at the Mountain Laurel Festival until 1:30 p.m. Facebook votes will be added to votes cast at the booth to determine the winners.
The 12th Annual VFL Rubber Duck race will be held at 2 p.m. on May 20 at the Mountain Laurel Festival. Tickets are available at ww.VFLHabersham.com, at Clarkesville and Cornelia Libraries, Elizabeth & Company Resale Treasures, and A to Zinc Health Store & Smoothie Bar in Clarkesville. They also will be available at the VFL booth on Mountain Laurel Day.
The combined Dec-a-Duck Contest and Rubber Duck Race is a fundraiser conducted by Volunteers for Literacy to provide funds for important literacy programs in Habersham County. VFL sponsors the Scripps Spelling Bee for Habersham County School (HCS) students in grades four through nine, provides dictionaries for all HCS third-grade students, and provides English language instruction to immigrants so they can lead more productive lives. VFL also manages the Kathie and Dan Nee Book Bank, where thousands of books are sorted by volunteers and housed until given to underserved children through the Kiwanis Christmas for Kids Program and the VFL Summer Reading Program. VFL also maintains 17 Little Free Libraries that are located across the county where young and old can find books that provide hours of reading enjoyment.
For more information on how to enter the 2023 Dec-a-Duck Contest, email VFL at [email protected] or call 706-949-3157.
