Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Island Creek Oyster Festival 2011

I'm so glad my sister invited me to this event. Actually, I could have easily skipped it, but she insisted I come and I'm so glad that she did. Lisa is a volunteer; actually she had on a tee shirt that said "Boss" while others had shirts that said "Help", so I figured she must be one of the head honcho volunteers. Turns out she did play a pretty significant role in the whole affair, and she was right about this being my kind of afternoon. It's about three things that I love; fresh whole food, the beach and giving back.


The Island Creek Oysters Foundation (ICOF) hosts this event under an enormous white tent on Duxbury beach. ICOF's mission is to help build sustainable aquaculture systems in impoverished communities locally and around the world. Follow the link above to learn about their recent projects. The Saturday Oyster Festival, now in its 6th year, is their largest annual fundraiser. It's the perfect, picturesque seaside setting to pay tribute to the venerable Island Creek Oyster.


The gates open at 3:00 pm with a crew of shuckers at the ready. I started with 1/2 dozen of these sweet, briny beauties. First bite and I was hooked. They are superb, and each time I photographed the shuckers they insisted I eat one more. Who was I to refuse? They grow and harvest the oysters, so I was happy to oblige when they proudly offered their catch. Within an hour I had at least a dozen under my belt.


The festival also features an impressive line-up of local chefs from Boston, Cambridge, Duxbury, and some who traveled in from NY. At 5:00 pm they began serving samples of their tantalizing creations. There was a little bit of everything; pizza, fried oysters, fish tacos, braised lamb, fish cakes and my favorite, grilled oysters with a tomato beurre blanc.


As I slurped oysters, sampled the chefs' fare, and listened to the live music I kept my camera at the ready to capture the event. I hope my video tells the story, and perhaps it will entice you to attend this enjoyable and worthwhile event next year.


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