OysterFest returns to Wellfleet in October. Tickets on sale now.
Wellfleet OysterFest is just over a month away and with tickets now on sale, you better get the credit cards out before they sell out.
As the festival returns to Main Street after last year's Baker's Field festival, tickets are selling quickly for this year's chance to slurp down the best oysters Wellfleet has to offer.
When is Wellfleet OysterFest?
OysterFest will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 14 and 15 on Main Street in downtown Wellfleet.
What's the history of OysterFest?
Wellfleet OysterFest was launched by the nonprofit Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting Inc. in 2000 as a way of educating people about shellfish. Over the decades, the festival has grown monumentally with thousands descending upon Wellfleet each year. For Wellfleetian, festival co-founder and treasurer of Wellfleet SPAT, Lisa Brown, the goal is to make it more manageable.
"One of the things that we saw as a group is that it became a little too corporate, a little too big and got very unwieldy," Brown said on Friday. "The commitment now … is trying to limit it. It brings in a few million dollars into the area so it's a big financial boon for area businesses. … There's a warning flag when a bunch of townspeople leave town because the party gets too big."
How do I get tickets for Wellfleet OysterFest?
Tickets went on sale on Aug. 21 and can be purchased online. General Admission is $23 and children 12 and under get in for free with a kid's ticket.
If you're a Wellfleetian, you're in luck as Sunday's admission fee is waived for residents. Use the code 20wellfleetresident23 and provide your Wellfleet address at checkout. Two tickets are available per household.
"We really want to just make sure that the people who are taxpaying citizens … who are in this town, have the right to be able to get a couple of tickets for their family, Brown said. "The other tickets are 20 bucks and you're paying only $20 for an amazing festival and a great experience."
As of Friday, half of Saturday's tickets had already sold out. Tickets are non-refundable. Daily capacity for the festival is capped at 11,000 per day for safety reasons.
What activities and entertainment takes place at OysterFest?
In Wellfleet, oysters are a hot commodity so it makes sense to have a whole festival dedicated to the briney delicacies. There are six raw bars featured at this year's festival but for the oyster-weary, other food vendors will also be there.
"Each raw bar is representative of somebody who works in Wellfleet and who either has a farm, their own business (or) picks in the wild," Brown said. "If you buy an oyster from each raw bar in the fest, you're going to find that there's something slightly different about them. They're all really delicious, we've got amazing oysters here. If you love oysters, you love Wellfleet oysters."
For the first time at OysterFest, a shucking tent will be set up on town hall lawn to teach festival-goers how to shuck. The tent will be ticketed due to limited capacity.
"One of the things that we get often with our visitor population is that people love to eat oysters but they don't know how to shuck them," Brown said. "People will be able to get in there and actually learn techniques on how to shuck their own oysters and then they'll shuck their own oysters and eat them."
On Saturday the famous Shuckoff will take place. Contestants will be competing to win three cash prizes, $3,000 for first, $1,500 for second and $500 for third and the chance to compete internationally in Galway, Ireland. Registration closes on Oct. 1.
"We have sent somebody to compete (in) Galway in the international shuckoff that's hosted by the Guinness Book of World Records," Brown said. "(The) guy (William "Chopper" Young Jr. of Wellfleet) that we sent missed the world record just by a few seconds but he was the fastest shucker in the world and had that distinction for some time."
Outside of oyster slurping and shucking, over 50 arts and crafts vendors will be at the festival. Local bands will provide live entertainment and kids can enjoy activities in the kid's area.
Where do I park at OysterFest?
Free parking will be available on all of Wellfleet's ocean beaches and free shuttles will be taking people to the festival. Shuttles start running at 9:30 a.m. at the beaches and pier and end at 6 p.m. Paid parking is available at the harbor, the pier and from a few private citizens.
History of oyster farming in Wellfleet
Wellfleet Harbor was once knee-deep in shellfish, Brown told the Times in 2022. The Wampanoag collected shellfish here for thousands of years before the colonists came: layers of sand and shell in the dunes prove it.
As far back as the mid-1800s, Wellfleet was considered the world’s oyster capital. What makes the oysters special are elements not replicated anywhere else: the 12-foot harbor tides and water that’s fed by fresh and saltwater.
Just as wines can be characterized by terroir — the environmental conditions, soil and climate in which they are grown — Wellfleet oysters can be characterized by “merroir,” Brown said. Depending on where an oyster grows in Wellfleet Harbor, its texture, finish and taste can vary, she said.
Shellfishing is Wellfleet's leading industry, supporting 350 families, Brown said in 2022. There are 200 shellfish farmers including wild harvesters, and 136 licensed grant holders. This is a town with only 3,500 year-round residents.
In 2020, 172 commercial permits and 880 recreational permits were sold, bringing $86,759 to town coffers. The Shellfish Department estimated that commercial catches brought in 1,200 bushels of oysters, 1,600 bushels of quahogs, 125 bushels of bay scallops and 170 bushels of blood clams.
Frankie Rowley covers entertainment and arts. She can be contacted at frowley@capecodonline.com.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Wellfleet OysterFest returns Oct. 14-15. Here's what you need to know.
