For 35 years in Havre de Grace, the first weekend in May has belonged to the Decoy Festival.
More formally known as the Havre de Grace Decoy & Wildlife Art Festival, the Decoy Festival has celebrated the artistry of the decorative decoys favored by collectors and the craftsmanship of the working decoys used by hunters.
There have also been plenty of ancillary features as well, including other wildlife art, gunning and retrieving dog events, etc.
Early on, the Havre de Grace Decoy Festival was a big deal. Restaurants and shops looked forward to that first weekend in May when the Decoy Festival would bring several thousand people to Havre de Grace over the three days. Kids at Havre de Grace High and Middle schools also looked forward to that first Friday in May because they would be dismissed early to make room for vendors setting up their wares.
Decoy Weekend also served somewhat as the unofficial launch of the tourist season.
More recently, the Decoy Festival has been lacking – mostly lacking energy, enthusiasm, excitement and people.
If they had more people attending, obviously, there would be more energy, enthusiasm, excitement, etc.
How to get more people into town in a quest for a painted wooden duck or two to sit on a shelf somewhere is the question. If anyone has the silver bullet of an answer, please shoot it in the direction of those in charge of the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum or the festival.
Part of the decline can be attributed to collecting decoys being a generational thing that doesn't have the same cache for enough of those in the generation doing most of today's buying.
Another element is the seismic shift that befell our economy in 2008, when the nation's housing market collapsed and so many people either lost their homes altogether or found themselves making payments on a home where they still owed a lot more than the house was worth.
When people can't afford to keep their beloved roofs over their heads, they sure don't care about buying wooden ducks, yet alone being able to afford them, to keep it well decorated until foreclosure takes the house away.
But that's enough of the doom and gloom about one of our city's treasures. We commend those who not only work tirelessly to make the Decoy Festival happen, but also have kept pushing through some tough economic times to keep this meaningful event going. And, a festival celebrating these Upper Chesapeake Bay traditions are as relevant today as they were the first day of the first Decoy Festival.
We encourage everyone in the area to spend some time Friday, Saturday or Sunday visiting the Decoy Festival.