There can be only one giant duck on Thursday

There’s a giant duck quack, quack, quacking on Philly’s door.

This weekend marks the debut of Tall Ships Philadelphia Camden, which among other things will feature a mock battle by several sailing ships, beer gardens, live music … and one huge duck.

The six-story tall behemoth will be towed up the river by tugboats on Thursday.

It’s difficult to say if the duck will accompany the ships, or the ships will accompany the duck, but the duck, and several tall ships will all be sailing in a parade past the Walt Whitman at roughly 1 p.m.

Boats — and ducks — are affected by wind and tide, said Ryan Whaley, a spokesman for the tall ship festival, but it’s safe to say that the duck will be parked in front of the Adventure Aquarium sometime in the late afternoon.

Tickets for the event can be bought for one day or many days. There are also multiple pricing levels for patrons who want to tour the ships or sail in them.

That mock battle mentioned earlierhappens at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

On the Philly side, most of the action will be centered around Penn’s Landing. The second floor deck of the Independence Seaport Museum will be converted to one of the festival’s four beer gardens.

On the Camden side, there will be a Ferris wheel.

The ships will be moored along the river in both cities. Buying a ticket to the event gets you a free ride on the River Link Ferry across the river.

There will be large fences erected around the water on both sides of the river.

For those who want to get a glimpse of the action without shelling out $7 for a ticket, Spruce Street Harbor Park will not be fenced in. You might also be able to get a peek from the Ben Franklin Bridge.