Farmstead Arts First River Race Turns Out Just Ducky

The community turned out this past weekend to support the first Farmstead Arts Festival and Duck Race in Basking Ridge, with the day's big event a duck race on the property's stretch of the Passaic River in which 903 little yellow ducks provided a lively competition.

Bernards Township Mayor Carolyn Gaziano said all of the available ducks were sold for $5 apiece, with discounts for teams, with the popularity of the event making the return of more duck races in the future.

"We had a really good turnout," Gaziano said the day following Saturday's festival and duck race. All ages turned out for the event, which also included arts and crafts, food with a healthy twist, music, a silent auction on art pieces created by local and regional artists and more.

Volunteer organizers of the event, Leslie Stevens, Janet Smith, and Kristina Lloyd, were in the barn throughout the day helping out and answering questions. The volunteers, all from Basking Ridge, agreed they were very pleased with the turnout and how much people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

"Most of the people who came out had never been to the Farmstead before _ and never knew there was a river behind the farmhouse," Gaziano said later. She said she hopes many of those people will be back to visit the Farmstead again, which is located in the historic Kennedy-Martin-Stelle property at 450 King George Road. 

The river current was strong on the day of the race, Gaziano noted. "Maybe next year, we won't have a tropical storm the day before."

The first-place winner in the duck race was Susanna Kopchains of Basking Ridge, who received a $500 gift card. Kopchains also sponsored the duck that won the third-place prize of a basket full of Mallory's Muffins.

Gaziano said the list of winners eventually will be posted on the Bernards Township website.

Bernardsville Rotary Club main sponsor

The Bernardsville Rotary Club was the main sponsor, providing the $500 grand prize, Gaziano said. The Bernards Township Police PBA 357 and Ridge Family Dentistry were additional sponsors, she added.

Healthful food was provided for the event by the Soup Shoppe and both from Basking Ridge.

Live music was played throughout the event, drawing in children to interact with the musicians. Area vendors also  especially enjoyed interacting with the live musicians.

Children kept busy painting ducks and taking part in other arts and crafts projects as they waited for the duck race to begin.

Once the ducks set off down the river, children enthusiastically clapped and cheered as the yellow rubber ducks made their way downstream.

Local boy scouts who had volunteered to collect the ducks as they finished the race also provided entertainment as the crowd cheered their efforts to catch all of the ducks before they floated further down the river.

With the Matheny Medical and Educational Center from Peapack-Gladstone filling the farmhouse with an exhibit of art created by patients, Gaziano said other art shows also were on display in the property's historic red barn.

The barn already has undergone renovations to make the structure more accessible for public events. Stevens said plans are in the works to add lighting.

Stevens also pointed out the uniqueness and architecturally soundness of the centuries-old barn.

The drop stalls and wind braces are some structures that are specific to the Farmstead's barn, with those braces even helping the old building to sustain little damage during Hurricane Sandy, she said.

After a rainy week, the Farmstead festival provided families with a great option to spend the day out doors on the picturesque property.

A goal of the event had been to showcase the township's Farmstead Arts, and bring more people to take visit the public property. "I think we definitely succeeded in that," Gaziano said.

Linda Sadlouskso contributed to this story, and Kristina Lloyd contributed photographs.