On Sunday, May 19, people crowded the railing by the Tihonet Pond Canal, waiting for a flood of yellow to come from the canal’s drain pipe. 

Glen Reid, a long-time employee with A. D. Makepeace, led the crowd in a rousing count-down from 10. After the count-down, and with a few seconds of suspense for good measure, a flock of bobbing yellow ducks came hurtling down the river. 

The ducks were racing as part of an annual fundraiser for the Friends of the Wareham Free Library, held on the grounds of A. D. Makepeace’s Makepeace Farms. 

Nova Lomp, whose duck won third place in the race, had a feeling it was destined for success. 

The duck was “the last one we made” out of a flock of six, so she knew it would be the luckiest, she said. 

The first-place prize of the day went to Margaret Ishihara and the second-place went to Martha Maguire. 

Several of the families in attendance were repeat participants in the race, which has occurred annually since 2015. 

Cousins Rowan, Lana and Landnen Ingerslev have attended the event each year since they were young. They said it was “tradition” and “family” that kept them coming back. 

It’s “just a fun thing for the kids,” said one father, Kevin, who added his family comes to the race every year. 

It was “a little damp today, but some of the kids showed up,” he said. 

“It wasn’t the lovely spring day we might have hoped for, but everyone sure had a good time at the annual duck race,” the Friends said in a statement on Facebook.