From rubber ducks to food trucks, Memorial Day weekend in downtown Auburn will be as busy as ever.
First will be the 21st annual Majorpalooza festival, taking place Sunday, May 27.
The event will begin with the Catch Me If You Can 5K run/walk at 8:30 a.m. and the Stefanak Sprint at 9:45 a.m. Both will start in front of Memorial City Hall, 24 South St., Auburn. This year, the registration fee has been waived for runners 18 and younger. However, all runners must still register. For more information about registration, email majorpalooza@hotmail.com.
Three weeks ago, the Phat Kat food truck first fired up its stove in the parking lot of Fami…
The main festival, which takes place along Genesee Street between Route 34 and State Street, will begin with food and beverage sales at 10 a.m. Food will be served by Villano's and the Cucina Crew of the local Cultural Italian American Organization, as well as food trucks Wolf's Patio Pizza and Potatoes and Molasses. Craft and domestic beer and wine will be sold (to ages 21 and older) by Prison City Pub & Brewery. All food and beverage sales can be made in cash; there is no ticketing system. Cab fare home will also be provided to anyone who needs it.
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Children's entertainment at Majorpalooza will include Nate the Great from 10 to 11 a.m., activities with the Auburn Doubledays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and magic, balloon animals and face painting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local artists, crafters and nonprofit vendors will also showcase and sell products and services throughout the day.
The schedule of musical entertainment on the Showmobile stage includes student collective from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., acoustic duo Cait & Austin from 1 to 3 p.m., Wicked Awesome (members of Syracuse band Scars 'n' Stripes) from 3 to 6 p.m. and Skaneateles party band Mere Mortals from 6 to 9 p.m. There will also be an "Auburn Idol" competition held by the BluePrint II junior high leadership program at Auburn Public Theater, and the winning performers will be showcased between acts on the Showmobile stage.
Proceeds from Majorpalooza will support its mission of raising awareness and support for children in the central New York area who are underprivileged, disabled or affected by life-threatening or terminal medical conditions. Majorpalooza also assists youth programs in the community, organizer Chris Major said in a news release. For more information, visit .
On Monday, May 28, Memorial Day will be observed in downtown Auburn with its annual parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on East Genesee Street. The parade will proceed west toward Veterans Memorial Park, where there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at approximately noon, as well as a performance by the Auburn Civic Band.
An event like the Auburn Kiwanis Club's annual Duck Derby is awash in numbers.
As the parade ends, the ducks will come swimming in when the Auburn Kiwanis Club hosts its 30th annual Duck Derby. The finish line for the Owasco River race is located at the North Street bridge near Market Street Park, where there will also be music by Goodtime Charlie's Mobile Entertainment until 3 p.m. and hot dogs for sale by the Knights of Columbus to raise money for the organization.
Ducks can be purchased for $5, and cash prizes of up to $3,000 will go to the holder of the tickets to the nine ducks that finish the race first, as well as the one that finishes last. For more information, visit or call Lisa Carr at (315) 252-2571.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Owasco River on Loop Road, the city's Food Truck Rodeo returns for its second year. Taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the event will feature Phat Kat Tacos, Wolf's Patio Pizza, Silo Food Truck and the New York State Fair award-winning Tonzi's Catering Co. There will also be a performance by DownBeat Percussion, the official drumline of the Buffalo Bills.
For more information on any of downtown Auburn's Memorial Day weekend events, call (315) 252-7874 or visit .
Gallery: Auburn's Duck Derby, over the years

The annual Duck Derby on Memorial Day in Auburn in 2019.

The annual Duck Derby on Memorial Day in Auburn in 2019.

Volunteers collect rubber ducks during the 30th annual Kiwanis Club Duck Derby along the Owasco River in Auburn in 2018.

Volunteers man the nets during the Kiwanis Club of Auburn's 30th annual Duck Derby along the Owasco River in 2018.

Volunteers work the Memorial Day Duck Derby in Auburn in 2017.

Alijah Tokarz looks for his duck during the Auburn Kiwanis Memorial Day Duck Derby in Auburn in 2017.

Thousands of ducks hit a fence in the Owasco River during the annual Duck Derby in 2016.

Quintin Morabito, of Auburn, watches the ducks go by at the 2016 Duck Derby.

Spectators watch rubber ducks float down the Owasco River during the 2015 Duck Derby in Auburn.

Volunteers gather rubber ducks as they float down the Owasco River during the 2015 Duck Derby in Auburn.

People line the wall of Market Street Park Monday as they watch the 2014 Duck Derby.

People line the wall of Market Street Park as they watch the 2014 Duck Derby.

Volunteers collect ducks in the Owasco River during the 2014 Duck Derby.

Volunteers collect rubber ducks from the Owasco River at the 25th annual Duck Derby in Auburn in 2013.

A volunteer collects rubber ducks in the Owasco River at the 25th annual Duck Derby in Auburn in 2013.

People watch as thousands of yellow rubber ducks make their way down the Owasco River during the Auburn Kiwanis Club's Duck Derby, following the Memorial Day parade and ceremony, in 2012.

Volunteers collect rubber ducks in the Owasco River during the 2009 Duck Derby.

Ducks are gathered during the 2009 Duck Derby in downtown Auburn.

Spectators watch the ducks float in during the 2007 Duck Derby in downtown Auburn.

Nathan Hughes helps to scoop ducks out of the Owasco River during the 2006 Duck Derby in downtown Auburn.

With 6,000 yellow ducks floating down the Owasco River during the 2005 Duck Derby, volunteer Mark Jamison, left, has a race of his own to keep up with as he helps remove the ducks out of the water as quickly as he can before they float past the "race" course

Ducks are gathered during the 2005 Duck Derby in downtown Auburn.
Lake Life Editor David Wilcox can be reached at (315) 282-2245 or david.wilcox@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter .