With a quack-quack here, and a quack-quack there, Orlando Family Stage is celebrating its centennial year with a development that’s just ducky.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the proliferation of purple rubber ducks popping up around Central Florida in recent days; the child-friendly critters have been distributed thanks to Orlando Family Stage, the nonprofit theater in Loch Haven Park that caters to young audiences.
“They’re an iconic childhood item,” said Zac Alfson, Orlando Family Stage senior director of marketing, of the decision for the theater to go to the ducks. “It’s fun for kids.”
There’s also a potential financial benefit for adults: Each duck comes with the chance to win free tickets to Orlando Family Stage’s productions throughout the year. But start hunting fast: This holiday weekend is your last chance to find one of the 3,000 ducks scattered around the region as duck season will end Monday night.
“We’ve been everywhere from Lake Nona to Mount Dora,” said Alfson, on his way to College Park and Winter Park to drop off more ducks. “We wanted to make sure to reach the breadth of the community.”
Zac Alfson from Orlando Family Stage places a purple miniature rubber duck outside Writer’s Block Bookstore on Park Avenue in Winter Park to promote OFS’ upcoming centennial celebration. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
Staff members have been helping place the ducks in libraries, businesses and other locations.
“Everybody’s been really excited about this,” Alfson said.
Here’s how the centennial ticket contest works: If you find a duck, scan the code on its tag to enter for the chance to win tickets. (Even if you don’t find a duck, you can still participate by going to familystage.org/duck.) You can earn additional chances to win by completing simple tasks such as following Orlando Family Stage on social media or referring friends to play along. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday (Sept. 1).
Bailey Hill and Zac Alfson from Orlando Family Stage distribute purple miniature rubber ducks on Park Avenue in Winter Park to promote the theater’s upcoming centennial celebration. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
As of Thursday, there were more than 8,000 entries logged at the contest website.
“Whether you find your duck at the library, your favorite coffeeshop or a neighborhood festival, each one is a reminder that the magic of theater belongs to everyone — and this year, the whole community is invited to join the celebration,” the contest announcement reads.
The grand prize in the “Duck Days of Summer” contest is a four-pack of tickets to each of the six public productions in the theater’s 2025-26 season. Another 10 winners will be given a four-pack of tickets to a single show of their choice.
One of Orlando Family Stage’s purple miniature rubber ducks on Park Avenue in Winter Park, distributed to promote the nonprofit theater’s upcoming centennial celebration. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
Orlando Family Stage is the only professional theater in the state specifically dedicated to “empowering young people to be brave and empathetic through quality theatrical experiences” as its mission. This season’s shows are:
“Go, Dog. Go! • ¡Ve Perro, Ve!” — A bilingual, high-energy adaptation of the beloved picture book filled with nonstop action and colorful canine characters.
“Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium” — A spine-tingling comic adventure based on the popular book series.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage” — The iconic animated holiday TV special brought to life onstage.
“Tiara’s Hat Parade” — A heartfelt story celebrating family bonds, creativity and self-expression.
“Lilly and the Pirates” — A daring musical journey across the seas.
“Finding Nemo” — An undersea adventure, based on the hit Disney-Pixar animated film, filled with friendship, courage and music.
Alfson said it’s important to the theater to involve as much of the community as possible in its centennial celebration, and that it was hoped the deluge of ducks would introduce Orlando Family Stage to newcomers.
“We talk a lot about trying to find new families,” Alfson said. “This is a way to catch the attention in a different way — and have fun doing it.”
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