LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Turkeys may get all the glory around Thanksgiving, but in Stuttgart, it’s duck season.
The annual “Wings Over the Prairie” festival, also known as “Duckfest,” took flight last weekend and culminates with the World Championship Duck-Calling Contest on Saturday, November 25.
The festival, the largest outdoor expo in the mid-south according to the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce, has been held in Stuttgart since 1936 and is as much a staple of the region’s culture as rice.
Every year, thousands of people from around the country migrate to town for their shot at the duck-calling World Championship—the prize? A sore throat and over $25,000.
This year, contestants hail from everywhere—from Illinois to Virginia.
“Started 88 years ago with just some guys talking about who was the best duck caller, and they walked out on Main Street and decided to have a contest,” said Bethany Hildebrand, president and CEO of the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce.
Arkansas, and Stuttgart specifically, is referred to as the duck-hunting capital of the world.
“Duck hunting in Stuttgart is obviously a huge economic booster for us, so the festival is kind of our way to celebrate duck season and celebrate all the great things that come along with that, so we’re able to welcome all of the tourists that come to our community to hunt duck,” Hildebrand said.
And it’s probably not a stretch to say just about everybody around Stuttgart hunts duck.
“About 90 percent, and I say that with full confidence too,” said Hagan Hord, this year’s Queen Mallard Pageant winner.
It’s not just duck calling that has a world championship at Duckfest—tomorrow is the World Championship Duck Gumbo Cookoff.
“We use my husband’s uncle’s recipe; he had won gumbo a couple of times, and it’s just been a hit ever since,” said Kathaleen Garrich, co-owner of the Food Commander food truck, which serves a delicious Peking duck gumbo with “Quack” seasoning. Channel 7 observed hunters at Duckfest clutching cups of tantalizing duck gumbo, quickly spooning down the dish before loved ones or bird dogs could ask for a taste.
Channel 7 even asked a duck which dish she would prefer to be cooked in, a jalapeno duck popper or the duck gumbo. She chose the gumbo.
The climax of the festival Saturday, when the official Duck Calling World Championship will take place at 2 p.m. According to the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce, roughly 65 duck-calling contests around the country serve as qualifiers for the World Championship in Stuttgart. MC’ing the event is none other than Miss Arkansas 2023 herself, Cori Keller.
“I’m a native of Stuttgart, so I have grown up with this festival, have competed in the kids’ contest before. It’s just a great week to bring the community together to celebrate the rice and duck capital of the world,” Keller said.
The event also boasts a carnival, a bazaar with vendors offering everything from gun raffles to decoys to custom duck callers, food trucks selling both duck and non-duck dishes, and live music.
