Oyster Festival weekend, Oct. 17 and 18 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) is the place to be for fun, excitement, musical thrills, tall ships, pirate adventures, the carnival and its midway and of course – delicious oysters. Come and enjoy them fried, in stew or just ice cold and glistening on the half shell, waiting to be slurped down with a squirt of lemon and dash of hot sauce.
“Our oysters are out of this world, incredibly fresh,” said Rotarian Donna Lee, overseer of the club’s Food Court booth. “If you try one, you won’t stop at just one.” The mollusks originate in Oyster Bay Harbor, delivered fresh from the brine courtesy of Dave Relyea and the Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc., oyster company.
There are plenty of choices beyond seafood. Landlubbers will relish the hamburgers, funnel cakes and fried Oreos. Looking for something with international flare? Then try the bratwursts, tacos, gyros, potato, homemade sausage and peppers, potato pancakes…even knishes!
In its 26th year, the Oyster Festival is the largest annual public gathering on Long Island – and one of the largest waterfront events on the East Coast.
Best of all, it is all for a good cause. Revenues from the Oyster Festival organizers, the Oyster Bay Rotary, support over two dozen local nonprofit organizations.
People come for favorite rides, crafts booths, specialty foods and just the opportunity to relax and enjoy the bounty in the salty air of one of the island’s busiest and most welcoming waterfront communities.
This year the Oyster Festival offers the first Oyster Festival Regatta and is bringing the tall ship Clipper City and the tug Cornell, made in the Jackobson shipyard 50 years ago, for viewing at the Western Waterfront.
The Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce welcomes visitors to Audrey Avenue where they will host an Elias Pekale antique show; and local restaurants welcome you. Come by land, by LIRR or by sea. The Sagamore Yacht Club, a short walk to the festival and food court, offers moorings/anchorage and monitors VHF Channel 78A or call 922-0555.
