On Friday morning, thunder rumbled. The crowd stayed away. The adventuresome came anyway. A few cars had to be pushed out of the parking fields’ mud.
Rain fell hard off and on, but stopped long enough for the festival faithful to stroll, shop and warm up with a cup of the Middlesex Woman’s Club spicy bisque.
About noon the Middlesex County Kiwanis Club tent filled with those seeking shelter and raw or roasted oysters on the half shell. Among them were Brad and Peggy Smith of Vermilion, Ohio, and this Urbanna Oyster Festival was a homecoming. They lived in Richmond 11 years and had made the trip to Urbanna for several Novembers. “We love the Oyster Festival,” he said, undaunted by the rain that kept people home. “We’re avoiding the crowd.”
