41st Annual Oyster Fest in Oyster Bay Set For October 19th & 20th
The pearl is out of the oyster! The annual Oyster Bay Oyster Festival is on for Saturday, October 19th and Sunday, October 20th this year from 11am to 6pm each day. Presented by Catholic Health in partnership with the OysterBay/East Norwich Chamber of Commerce and powered by optimum and The Sands, the gambling company looking to build a casino at the Nassau Coliseum site, the announcement popped up on Oyster Bay Brewing Company’s social media page on Wednesday.
Last year’s event saw some soggy days. The 40th annual Oyster Festival featured three food courts offering more than 60 items to eat, including lobster dinners, empanadas, soft shell crab, fried shrimp, and, of course, raw oysters.
“It’s my first time working here, this festival has been going on for 40 years,” said David Mojica, who worked at the clam chowder booth in 2023. “Because of the weather, there are fewer people than I expected, tomorrow probably will do better.”
Despite the weather people still enjoyed the day and for those who looked on the brighter side of the rain there was a real benefit.
“I definitely got my food faster because there’s no lines at all,” said Lily Liu at the festival last year. “My favorite food is what I’m having now, fried oyster with tartar sauce. It’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.”
Click here to read our complete coverage of last year’s festival.
As usual the highly anticipated event will feature an oyster-eating and shucking contest, a carnival, craft beer garden (featuring Oyster Bay Brewing Company beers among others), food trucks, live music, craft vendors, and more. This festival is one of the largest of its kind on the East Coast.
The website listed on the bottom of the flyer (theoysterfest.org) doesn’t seem to be live yet but last year’s festival info can be found here.
