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Pittsburgh Gives Giant Rubber Duck A Warm Welcome

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- On Friday afternoon, it happened.

The first sighting of the giant Rubber Duck for the folks waiting at The Point.

It made its way under the West End Bridge, past the fountain, under the Fort Duquesne Bridge and up the Allegheny River to a crowd of waiting fans.

Teri Shawvey came from Columbus, Ohio, to see it.

KDKA's David Highfield Reports:

Others, like Roni Caruso from Kittanning, marked it on her calendar months ago.

"Do you believe it is actually happening?" said Caruso.

"She saw a blurb about it months ago," Caruso's friend said. "She started telling people, and they gave her strange looks.

Raw Video from NewsChopper 2:

Some people came dressed in duck garb to show their support, many brought their cameras and others quacked and chanted for the giant bird.

"Let's go duck! Let's go duck!"

Everyone seems excited about the duck.

"It's great! I can't believe that!" said one excited person.

The duck's creator couldn't be more thrilled with Pittsburgh's response.

"It's not a gimmick," artist Florentijn Hofman said. "It's funny, but it's about joy and happiness. It's also about connecting people all over the globe."

PHOTO GALLERIES:

"We didn't know what the Pittsburgh response is, and here are – overwhelmed," said Kevin McMahon, of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. "We think there may be more than a half a million people here today."

Ken Rice & Susan Koeppen's Photos With the Rubber Duck!

Send us your photos with the Rubber Duck:

RELATED LINKS:
More Rubber Duck News
More Reports by David Highfield

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