2016 Wellfleet OysterFest

Aw Shucks, No Oysters?

Sarah Swain and the Oh Boys at the Wellfleet OysterFest, Wellfleet, MA. The event features regional oysters, shucking contests, music and entertainment. William photo

The 16th annual Wellfleet OysterFest took place Saturday and Sunday, October 15-16. The event was another success—the weather dry, warm and sunny—a perfect weekend for a fall festival. The only thing that was lacking was raw shellfish.

Two days before the event, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed Wellfleet harbor to shellfishing due to a norovirus outbreak. An estimated 77 illnesses were reported. On top of banning the sale of raw shellfish at the festival, the state also enacted a recall on the product back to Sept. 26 and ordered shellfish farms to shut down for a minimum of 21 days or until the state can confirm the product is clean.

This was tough blow for festival producer, Wellfleet SPAT, Shellfish Promotion and Tasting, Inc. “This is just one year of the ‘Fest’ and what we care about most is running a safe and fun festival,” says Michele Insley, executive director for SPAT. “We also value the long-term sustainability of our town’s second highest revenue producer, shellfishing, so we are erring on the side of caution.”

The event attracted 17,000 people to enjoy cooked shellfish, other seasonal food offerings, live music, art and craft vendors, educational talks and panels, culinary demonstrations, a family fun area, films screenings and the ‘Fest’s most popular event - the shucking competition. The Shuck Off was held as planned with the preliminary round on Saturday and the final on Sunday. The oysters were sourced from Barnstable, MA. 21 Shuckers competed, opening 24 oysters as fast as they could. Steven Boreen of Newport took the title with a finish time of 2:28 and an adjusted time of 3:29 minutes.

The OysterFest is the primary fundraising event for Wellfleet SPAT a non-profit organization devoted to sustaining the shellfishing and aquaculture industries. ‘Although we estimate proceeds from this year’s event may be 20% down a lot of good came from the experience,’ said Michele Insley. ‘Many people were made aware that the ‘Fest is a fundraising event for the shellfishing community and that the industry is fragile. Like our environment our resource needs to be protected.’

In an effort to help the shellfishermen a relief fund was initiated by a group of volunteers in which $5000 was raised at the event. SPAT will also contribute money to this fund and in the coming weeks assess how best to help the shellfishermen affected by this closure.