Gearing up for Oyster Fest

Oyster Bay Town officials came together with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 12 to give residents a taste of what to expect from this year’s Oyster Fest.

This will be the first time that the Town of Oyster Bay will be partnering with the chamber to put on the event. Chamber Vice President Ravin Chetram is confident in the ability of both the town and the chamber to come together and make this the best event possible for everyone.

“It was the perfect partnership,” Chetram said. “Once last year took place and didn’t show that well for some of the non-profits, the town stepped in, and we were really glad they did. We have been strategizing with the Town of Oyster Bay and we see this year’s event coming together a lot more effectively.”

This year, officials said that the festival will focus on supporting the community and local vendors. At the news conference, town officials announced that for the first time in years, New York oysters will be the only ones served at this year’s Oyster Fest. A dozen local oyster vendors will be contributing to the event, and all oyster shells will be collected and recycled back into Long Island waters to help keep them clean.

“By focusing on New York oysters, we’re not just serving food; we’re telling a story of our region’s commitment to sustainability, local business, and community,” added Ryan Schlotter, president of the chamber. “For the first time, this year’s festival will showcase the diversity and excellence of our local oyster farms and the oysters that are the Town’s namesake.”

Oyster Fest, which will welcome guests Oct. 19 and 20, is one of the biggest seafood festivals in the U.S. and has been a staple of the town for the last 41 years. The free event has hosted up to 150,000 residents in years past and is expected to exceed that number this year. Town officials assured residents that they will be more than equipped to manage that amount of people while providing them the best possible experience through a superior setup design created for the event.

Although he did not specify how, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino claimed that this year’s event will run smoothly, with significant improvements in parking, pedestrian access and crowd management.
“In years past we’ve had 150,000 people attend this event and we are well equipped to handle that number and more,” Saladino said. “It’s been designed to make it easy to park, easy for pedestrians, easy for the flow of people moving in and out and there’s so much more to do now.”

Both the Town of Oyster Bay and the Chamber of Commerce have been working all summer to try and create the best event possible. Saladino said the groups have put together a list of events, local restaurants and musicians, and amusements for this year’s festival.

“Thousands of people will be visiting the Oyster Fest right here in Theodore Roosevelt Park in just a few weeks, with abundant live music, delicious food, merchandise vendors, amusements, and a family funzone. This is all just scratching the surface of what an incredible event this is going to be,” Saladino said.

This year’s event is sponsored by Catholic Health, Optimum and The Sands New York. It will also have a strong presence from local charities, as it has in years past, including the Boys and Girls Club of America.

“With the vendors we have at the event, we plan on taking whatever money is made and taking that money and distributing it amongst the nonprofits throughout our community.” Chetram added.