A couple of years ago, she said they were talking about the night before Thanksgiving and how they might get people out, so they can enjoy everything Hamilton has to offer.
“We brought in the lure of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati,’ and that’s when the idea of buying the little ducks was born, and sprinkling them from the sky, and really bringing WKRP to light. Then, it just snowballed and it has certainly turned into a beautiful thing,” Cilley said.
The Casual Pint Hamilton, Municipal Brew Works, Pour House and Tano Bistro are selling rubber ducks dressed like turkeys, which will be dropped from a Hamilton Fire Department ladder truck. This year’s goal is to sell or have residents sponsor 500 ducks. The cost of a turkey duck is $10.
Turkey ducks can be purchased at each of the locations, and they will be on sale until they sell out, or up until the day before the event. There will be one $500 cash prize and four $100 runner-up cash prizes awarded.
“The last two years, we raised money for the Butler County Veterans Memorial wall, and that project is now done, thanks to the funds we were able to contribute to put that project over the top. This year, we are raising money for Open Door Food Pantry,” said Cilley. “If we sell them all, hopefully, we will be able to give about $4,000 to Open Door Food Pantry. That buys a lot of food.”
The first year, 120 turkey ducks sold out in 24 hours. Last year, there were 470 ducks.
“Each year, the number of ducks has grown because the response has been so positive,” Cilley said.
The Hamilton Turkey Drop will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 26 at The Casual Pint Hamilton. A giant screen TV from Chatterbox Sports will be set up on Market Street, facing The Casual Pint parking lot. Spectators will see a segment of the famous “Turkeys Away” episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati.”
Then, the ladder truck will sprinkle the turkey ducks over five targets. The turkey ducks closest to the targets are the cash winners.
“The coolest part is the laughter, smiles and everybody yelling, ‘As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly’ at the end of the clip, right before we drop the turkey ducks onto the targets,” Cilley said.
Jim Goodman, co-owner at Municipal Brew Works said it has always been such a funny, iconic line.
“A lot of people like to go out the night before Thanksgiving. It’s the number two night, next to New Year’s Eve,” he said. “If you’re going to go out that night, and you want to have fun for a good cause, that is the purpose behind it.”
The Hamilton Turkey Drop is a family-friendly event. Nearly 300 spectators attended the event last year.
“This keeps gaining its own momentum, and it’s becoming the thing,” Goodman said. “We had people asking about it in September.”
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