LEONARDTOWN, Md. – In August of 2022, Wednesday Davis, from the St. Mary’s Arts Council, sent an email to Laschelle McKay, Leonardtown’s Town Administrator, saying, “I would love to see this big yellow duck in town,” with a link to the website for the Big Duck.
“I fell in love with the idea and the fact that it was so unique,” McKay told The BayNet.
Immediately, McKay started contacting the owner and received an initial response right away that they had their 2022 dates secured, but to send some 2023 dates. For the next several months, McKay heard nothing. Unitil on May 4, 2023, she made a last ditch effort and sent another email. This time, Craig Samborski, the owner of the duck, responded right away and scheduled a phone call for the following day.
Now, Mama Duck – as she’s officially called, will be making Leonardtown its home from Friday, August 4 through Sunday, August 6. The 61 feet tall, 63.9 feet wide, and 73.8 feet long rubber duck will be featured on land at the Leonardtown Wharf.
This is also the first time Mama Duck has ever visited the state of Maryland.
“The hotel in town is already booked, people will be coming from all around…Leonardtown is getting known throughout the state. This will make it great for all of our businesses also,” Dan Burris, the Mayor of Leonardtown, told The BayNet.
“I have always loved the idea and so far we are getting amazing responses on social media and from word of mouth. I believe this event will bring thousands of visitors to Leonardtown,” McKay stated. “Tourism is a very high priority for St. Mary’s County as a means to diversify the economy. In 2016 I represented Leonardtown on the St. Mary’s County Tourism and Hospitality Masterplan effort. I currently sit on the Board of Visit St. Mary’s. I believe tourism plays an important role in our local economy and Leonardtown has always worked very hard at creating fun, family- friendly events that engage the residents of St. Mary’s County but also supports our local businesses in Leonardtown. We are consistently creating and changing the types of events that we host to keep things fresh and exciting as well as events that function well for the local businesses. Additionally, Leonardtown is the only Arts and Entertainment District in Southern Maryland and we have a certain level of expectation that comes along with our events! I believe this event will be talked about for a long, long time! Just like Beach Party was when we first dumped 30 tons of sand in the middle of town and created the first of many years of fun at Beach Party on the Square!”
This is just one of the amazing features of the weekend, as the town will be celebrating Leonardtown Wharf’s 15th anniversary. More details on the events taking place that weekend will be announced in the near future.
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Just visit the capital building or the White House, you’ll see the largest bunch of rubber ducks every single day
Wow… priorities.