OysterFest!

Next weekend is Wellfleet's annual fall festival, OysterFest! I've been looking forward to it since Labor Day. This year will be the 8th annual Fest and for Saturday & Sunday Wellfleet comes alive and shines as Main Street closes for a street party. OysterFest is a celebration of the town's famous oysters, clams, shellfishing traditions, and all around spirit with a hometown flavor. It's a great way to spend a weekend!

Schedule of Events

This year there are more scheduled events that have peaked my interest:

• U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Boat tour

• Shucking Demonstration from Wellfleet’s own WORLD OYSTER SHUCKING CHAMPION, William “Chopper” Young, Jr. Chopper will demonstrate different methods of opening oysters, including his signature Wellfleetian award-winning technique. Chopper won the U.S. National Shucking Competition in Maryland last fall and has just returned from winning the world oyster shucking competition in Galway, Ireland.
  
• Taste the Terroir - To learn more about oysters, clams and terroir (the french word for "taste of place"), join Fisheries & Aquaculture Specialist Bill Walton from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for an educational and fun "taste-the-terroir" seminar. Participants will sample 3 types of oysters and 3 types of clams from different sections of Wellfleet Harbor. Walton will provide details about the biology behind Wellfleet oysters and aquaculture in the harbor, while guiding a discussion to taste the differences. Wellfleet shellfishermen will also be available for questions.

This last one sounds really cool! My mom claims she can taste the difference in the Oysters from various local beds. We'll see if a non-oyster aficionado like myself can.

After the attention, publicity and attendance of last year, I predict this year will be unbearably populated. Photos from last year. So it goes.

Bring on the festivities!

{If you decide to give it a whirl, call or email me and I can give you all the insider info - like good places to park or where things will be held or who has the best salmon cakes.}