OysterFest - Oct. 5th – 6th Mason County Fair Grounds, Shelton WA

OysterFest – Oct. 5th – 6th Mason County Fair Grounds, Shelton WA

OysterFest, also known by the longer moniker “The Annual West Coast Oyster Shucking Championship and Washington State Seafood Festival,” is upon us once again and you can expect all the great, local fun and craziness that’s attended the previous 31 festivals – plus a little bit more, don’t you know.

The West Coast Oyster Shucking Championships

Now the centerpieces – the pearl, if you will – of OysterFest are, of course, the West Coast Oyster Shucking Championships. Contestants willing to test their mettle against these sharp shelled shellfish can vie for two different titles: Fastest Oyster Shucker and Best Half-Shell Oyster Shucker. There are no rules against going for both titles – it’s been achieved before, if you can believe it.

More than 500 dozen oysters volunteer (well, maybe not voluntarily) for the honor of being shucked during the contests and the goal is to shuck 24 of the sharp, little buggers just as fast as you possibly can – which usually happens to be under two minutes!

The half-shell contest on Sunday is even trickier as you have to serve the 24 oysters you shuck on the half shell, with your time and presentation being the deciding factors for score.

Oh – and a tip for those who enjoy themselves a little fresh oyster: after judging, the shucked oysters are passed out to the audience … YUM!

But OysterFest is not all oysters – this is also the State Seafood Festival, after all, and that means a nearly 100 item food menu, along with Washington wines and microbrews, five stages of live entertainment, activities for the kiddies, and plenty of other exhibitions and attractions wedged in there for good measure: the whole nine yards, in other words.

And speaking of wines, our own Olympic Cellars will be on hand to represent the upper peninsula and maybe even bring home an oyster shucking championship, eh? What do you say guys?

32nd Annual OysterFest 2013

OysterFest

Oct. 5th – 6th
Mason County Fair Grounds in Shelton WA
For a full schedule, further details, and tickets, please visit:
www.oysterfest.org