Famous Flanders fowl awaits Big Duck Holiday Lighting celebration

Flanders residents are getting egg-cited for one of the hamlet’s favorite holiday traditions — lighting its famous Big Duck.

Thursday night will mark the 34th year of the annual Big Duck Holiday Lighting celebration, which residents and Suffolk County Parks Department officials say draws hundreds every year to the large duck-shaped structure.

The ceremony was postponed from its original Wednesday date due to rain.

Suffolk County and Town of Southampton officials were expected to attend the ceremony, which begins around 7 p.m. at 1012 Flanders Road in Flanders, according to Richard Martin, director of historic services for the Suffolk County Parks Department. The Riverhead Middle School Choir were set to sing holiday "duck carols" from the main stage, and Santa Claus will arrive for a visit on a Flanders Fire Department truck. After the opening festivities are concluded, the Big Duck will be lit up.

The tradition began decades ago after an anonymous person began to put a holiday wreath around the duck every November, according to Martin. This inspired the parks department to begin lighting the duck structure every year beginning when the county took over the property hosting the duck in 1988.

Neil Young, president of the Flanders-based nonprofit Friends of the Big Duck, which acts as stewards of the duck, said the lighting ceremony has become a part of the identity of the hamlet, like the Big Duck itself.

“It’s part of tradition. There’s pride in having the world-renowned duck in Flanders,” Young said.

Angela Huneault, vice president of local civic group the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association (FRNCA), has been participating in the duck lighting ceremony for several years, with civic group members often volunteering at the event and serving hot chocolate to those in attendance.

“For this area, it’s the thing to do for Christmas,” Huneault said. “It starts the season and gets everybody excited and then Santa comes. … I mean, it’s the Big Duck.”

The event also brings out joy and a festive spirit in the community during the ceremony itself, Huneault said.

“It’s nice to see the community get together for something that’s nice and fun. Everyone’s laughing and some people are singing and some dress up, some wear flickering lights. The atmosphere is joyful,” Huneault said.

Patty Hopkins, treasurer for FRNCA, said residents take great pride in both the annual ceremony and having the large duck structure nest in their hamlet.

“Some places are the gateway of something. For Flanders, we are the home of the Big Duck,” Hopkins said.