By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
GREENVILLE — The ducks are back in Greenville.
After a years-long hiatus, local business owner Gared Wilkie from Community Partners of Greenville is spearheading the effort to bring back the Quack Quack Greenville public art project.
The program will commission 20 artists and 20 business sponsors to place decorated fiberglass ducks around the community next summer. The initiative is similar to the Cat’n Around Catskill project, as well as the bears project in Cairo and the owls in Coxsackie.
The duck art project has been done in Greenville on and off for several years, depending on the number of volunteers willing to make it happen, but stopped during the COVID pandemic, and is now making a comeback.
“A year and a half ago I reached out on the Greenville Community Facebook group and posed the question — why don’t we have ducks? I was approached by Community Partners and they said if I was interested, I could come and join them and get it started,” Wilkie said.
He is now working with three other volunteers to bring the public art project back to Greenville. So far, 10 sponsoring businesses have signed on so there are 10 slots remaining. A handful of artists have committed to the project, but more are needed.
Prospective artists will be asked to submit an application and sketch to the Community Partners board for approval. Artists can live anywhere in Greene County.
“We are not exclusive to Greenville only — anyone who is interested can sign up and get on board,” he said.
Participating artists will receive $50 compensation to cover the cost of paint and other materials and will then get a 30% commission when their duck is sold at auction next fall.
For Wilkie, the project is personal — seeing the various public art projects around the county has become a family tradition.
“I have four beautiful children and I thoroughly enjoy taking my kids to Catskill, [Coxsackie] and Cairo and looking at the cats, owls and bears, and it hit me — why don’t we have this here in Greenville?” Wilkie said. “That is something that I enjoy doing with my family and if this is what it takes to bring it back, here I am.”
Depending on the level of sponsorship the business selects, they will have their choice of which design they will get, and then they can choose where their duck will be located in the town.
“When the sponsors fill out their sponsor packet, they have a choice of choosing whether they would like the duck in front of their business or in another spot,” Wilkie said. “For instance, my business is located here in Greenville but it is not on a main strip so it wouldn’t make sense for me to have a duck two miles away when the hub is here in Greenville, so the sponsor has the choice of where they would like their duck to be.”
Organizers are working with the town to identify spots around the community where ducks can be placed. In the past, several ducks were located at the gazebo in Veterans Memorial Park at the intersection of Routes 32 and 81.
Once the designs have been selected by the sponsors and the artists have completed their duck, Wilkie — who owns a residential and commercial painting business and does custom air brush work — will clearcoat, polish and weatherproof the ducks so they can be kept outdoors.
Then, it will be time for the ducks to make their debut.
“The ducks will go up around Memorial Day and will be on display up until Greenville Day in 2025, and then they will be going up for auction,” Wilkie said.
To get involved, whether as a sponsor or an artist, visit cpog.org or follow Quack Quack Greenville on Facebook.
