Duck Drop 2016 Will Shine Light on Autism

The annual Duck Drop will ring in the new year in Havre de Grace, and the 2016 bird will be sporting a new color.

The manmade duck, crafted by the Susquehanna Hose Company, will be adorned with colored lights as it drops outside Havre de Grace Middle School.

In recent years, the firefighters have lit up the duck for various causes—green for St. Baldrick’s and pink for breast cancer—and this year it will shine blue for autism.

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“We have a few firefighters that have autistic children,” Susquehanna Hose Company member Ed Grainger said of how the cause was selected for this year’s Duck Drop. Grainger told Patch he has an out-of-state relative who is autistic as well.

On Dec. 31, the Susquehanna Hose Company will light up Havre de Grace with blue to shine a light on the disorder, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says affects one in every 68 children.

Blue has been associated with autism due to a campaign called “Autism Speaks,” which encourages people and organizations to illuminate signs and landmarks blue on April 2 in recognition of World Autism Day.

At the Duck Drop on New Year’s Eve, the Susquehanna Hose Company will sell t-shirts, with proceeds benefitting Pathfinders for Autism of Maryland.

The blue duck will be suspended from a ladder truck until the stroke of midnight, when it will drop to signal the new year. Fireworks will follow.

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Music will start at 10 p.m., the duck drops at midnight and fireworks will light up the night as 2016 begins.

The Duck Drop to ring in 2016 will take place on Thursday, Dec. 31, at Havre de Grace Middle School, 451 Lewis Lane, Havre de Grace.

“Join us for a great time and tradition since 2000,” Grainger said. “In Havre de Grace...’The Duck Drops Here.’”

Graphic courtesy of Ed Grainger.