Oysterfest Grows Larger, Expands Into New Space

oysterfest
Delicious food options are a staple at Oysterfest.
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By Heidi Smith

oysterfest
Delicious food options are a staple at Oysterfest.

The first thing you’ll see when you walk into Oysterfest this year is the annual West Coast Speed and Half Shell Oyster Shucking competition. This short but intense (and slippery) contest is a highlight of the event. Shelton restaurateur Xinh Dwelley is a local legend, having won the competition five times. She has retired from the fray to focus on her business, Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House in Shelton.  The field is open. Who will be this year’s champion?

To find out, visit the 34th annual Oysterfest on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4. The gate fee is $5. After 33 years at the Mason County Fairgrounds, the event has moved just north, to the other side of the Sanderson Field Airport’s active runway. “We’re roughly parallel to Highway 101,” says Patti Case of the Skookum Rotary Club, who is Chair of Vendors for this year’s event. “We’ll still have all the remote parking we’ve had in the past.”

The new venue will contain multiple tents with a central passage. “I liken it to walking down the main aisle of a mall,” says Case. “Everything you’ll want to experience, you’ll be able to find, whether it’s bacon wrapped scallops or wine tasting. The Beer Garden is at the back.”

oysterfest
Come for the delicious BBQ oysters and bacon wrapped scallops.

Along the way, visitors will have the opportunity to sample all kinds of delicacies and experiences offered by local non-profit agencies. Case says the event has four signature vendors whose food is always in demand:

  • The Squaxin Island elders will grill salmon by an open alder fire.
  • The Boy Scouts of America will offer barbecued oysters.
  • Harry Martin will grill oysters.
  • The Shelton Lions Club will offer a gluten-free clam chowder.

On the culinary front, some new additions this year include:

  • Salmon tacos with fresh vegetables from the Hope Garden Project.  “This is a fairly new organization in Mason County,” says Case. “They work with at-risk high school students to help them make healthier food choices.” The group maintains a garden and all the vegetables served will be ones they grew themselves.
  • Salmon bacon from the Hood Canal Kiwanis Club. “They’ve been with us for many years, but have just added this to their menu,” says Case.
oysterfest
The beer garden will be located at the back of Oysterfest this year.

Another new addition will be a set of touch tanks brought in by The Marine Education Science Society.  “You’ll be able to see and touch sea cucumbers and sea anemones,” says Case. “We’ve also worked to create a kid-friendly area where young kids can do mini-train rides and mini-golf. There will be a kids’ stage with a magic show and other acts.”

Case says the move was prompted by the need for more space. “We expanded well beyond the use of the buildings at the fairgrounds,” she says. “It spilled out into tent after tent. This event has grown incrementally every year and it continues to grow. When microbrews first started, it was in a building that was maybe 40 by 80 feet. The stage and seating were both outside in some kind of animal area for the county fair. If it was raining, people would be dancing in sawdust and muck. Now, the microbrew area is probably bigger than a football field.”

She attributes the event’s popularity to several factors. “A lot of people love seafood and that’s an attraction,” she says, “but even if you don’t like seafood, what a fun thing to wander around and learn more about Hood Canal. We have visitors from around the country that are really dedicated to this. One man from Florida came every year until he passed away. It’s also really popular with folks from around the Puget Sound area.”

oysterfest
An oyster shucking competition is one of the activities slated for Oysterfest.

Every food vendor at the event is a non-profit organization based in Mason County, says Case. It’s an opportunity for them to raise funds for their cause while offering items visitors can’t resist. “Everybody rushes to the coconut shrimp from Senior Services of South Sound,” she says. “Then there’s bacon-wrapped scallops from Shelton Presbyterian Church.” Shelton High School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) serves Olympic Mountain Ice Cream, and the Peninsula Art Association offers homemade pie and ice cream and whipped cream with cheesecake.

The event will also include both an amateur and professional cook-off. “Right in front of you, they’ll prepare whatever menu item they’re given to work with,” says Case. “For those who love cooking shows, that’s a great hit.”

She hopes people take advantage of this year’s event to expand their palates on all fronts. “I want people to see this as an opportunity to experience different foods and different beverages, and do something they haven’t done before,” she says. “Whether that’s playing mini-golf or touching a sea cucumber or watching the oyster shucking competition for the first time, try something new.”

oysterfest
Families are welcome at Oysterfest.

For more information about Oysterfest, visit www.oysterfest.org.

Oysterfest

Saturday, October 3 from 10:00 a.m – 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 4 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sanderson Field Airport

21 W Sanderson Way

Shelton, WA 98584

 

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