Organizers for the first ever Onondaga Cup and LakeFest billed the star as the biggest Rubber Duck. Ever. Period. How could my dear wife Karen and I not meet terrific daughter Elisabeth and standout significant George for a look-see Saturday afternoon at Onondaga Lake’s Willow Bay?

Organizers did not lie.

OK, maybe Cusey, as they called this big thing in our city, was of a material more akin to one of the balloons you’d find walkers leading by ropes past Macy’s on Thanksgiving Day than something you’d see floating in your bathtub. This, we decided during our many walk-by photo ops.

Hover over any gallery photo for a description. Click on an image for an enlarged slide show.

You could not escape a glimpse of the duck, it seemed no matter where you tred. By the food trucks. By the beer taps. By the wine slushie vendor. We know. We tried them all.

Elisabeth enjoyed her roasted corn. All three of my loved ones loved their ice cream. Karen was satisfied with a corn dog. I savored my smoked pastrami with spicy mustard on the smallest rye bread sandwich for nine bucks ever. We did not go for a $10 replica of Cusey to take home for our bathtub, not after I asked if it went to charity and was told, no, it was just hawked by the company that pulls the big duck around from city to city.

After, we were drawn back to the big duck for close-up photos as if by some supernatural pull nevertheless.

Not that the organizers of the daylong fest, Karen’s company SMG, didn’t plan other things to catch your attention.

Mermaid Tory went for a swim in what used to be the country’s most polluted lake before lounging shoreside for photo-takers. She smiled, seemingly honestly, when I reminded her that it might be wise to take a shower as fast as humanly possible. Multi-million dollar cleanup or not.

And then there the regatta rowing races, with boats representing local companies competing for the Onondaga Cup.

We got there in time to root for SMG’s shell.

And SMG won its heat against SOS II. Nice work, Syracuse Media Group topping Syracuse Orthepedic Specialists. We couldn’t see by how much because the finish line was way …… down ……. there.

A good time was had by use, we decided, as we walked back to the car full of food, conversation, duck shots and happy from our day in the sun.

Which rubber ducky shot do you like best, and why? Are you a good boat rower, and how?
Which have you seen most recently, a duck on a lake or a duck in a bathtub?