by Larry Chowning –
The 64th annual Urbanna Oyster Festival is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5 and 6 and is one of the largest and most successful festivals in Virginia.
The success of the festival has been largely due to generations of dedicated volunteers who have given countless hours to hold the annual event.
The faces of the folks in charge of the festival change from time to time but their enthusiasm and commitment does not seem to wane. This year’s festival is being run by Dick Goyne, newly elected president of the Urbanna Oyster Festival Foundation; Bruce DeSimone, vice president of the foundation; and Joe Heyman and Eric Faudree, co-chairmen of the festival.
This group of volunteers brings years of experience to the table in running the festival. Goyne started working the festival in the Kiwanis booth eight years ago and has worked his way up to chairman of the foundation.
“I just enjoyed working the festival,” said Goyne. “I see the festival as one of the most important economic and social events of the year for Urbanna and Middlesex County.”
Goyne is retired and lives at Locust Hill. “I see my being a part of the festival as a way of giving back to the community,” he said. “When working at the Kiwanis booth I learned just what the festival meant to the nonprofits in the county. Some of the nonprofits get their entire yearly income from what they make at the festival.”
DeSimone has been working with the festival since he moved to Urbanna with his family in 1983. “My wife and I were chairmen of the vendor committee in 1984 and I have been involved in some capacity ever since,” he said.
“I remember that we collected $20,000 from vendors in 1984 and that was enough money to run the entire festival,” he said. Goyne said that the cost of running the 2021 festival will be around $250,000.
“The festival has been a major player in the growth of Middlesex,” said DeSimone. “It is amazing the number of people that I have met who say they were first introduced to Urbanna and Middlesex at the festival. It was such a positive experience that they decided to move here, buy a home and retire here.”
Heyman moved to Urbanna in 1988 and “got roped” into volunteering in the festival by the late Charles Bristow. “Charles invited me over to his home for dinner and I’ve been involved in the festival ever since,” he said.
Heyman was co-chairman of the festival in 1989 and chairman in 1990 and has been on the foundation board throughout the years and served in just about every capacity. “This event is a regional event,” said Heyman. “The hotels in Tappahannock and Gloucester are filled on the weekend of the festival.
“This is an event that drives tourism in Middlesex throughout the entire year,” said Heyman. “On the Virginia Tourism website the festival gets more hits by far than any other festival in the state.”
The real challenge for the future of the festival is whether or not it can financially sustain itself, said Heyman. Recently, the foundation introduced a “VIP Experience ticket,” which includes wine, beer and oyster tastings and VIP seating at Saturday’s shucking contest. “This has generated about $60,000 which has really helped us,” said Heyman.
The festival foundation also increased parking this year to $20 on Friday with $10 going to the foundation to help off-set expenses. The festival has been collecting $10 from the $20 fee on Saturday for a number of years now.
Eric Faudree is the only one of the group who has been chairman/co-chairman of the festival and grand marshal. Faudree was grand marshal in 2012 and has worked with the festival going back to the early 1980s. He is an Urbanna resident, Middlesex High School graduate and retired from Newport News Shipbuilding.
“Throughout my life, I have watched the festival grow into one of the largest festivals in the state,” said Faudree. “The festival touches so many lives, whether it is through scholarships for our local students (through the Oyster Festival Queen program), fundraisers for our nonprofits or the foundation’s waterfront education programs.
“It started as small town festival in 1958 and has grown into the official oyster festival of the state of Virginia,” he said.
Goyne asked that this story include festival event coordinator Pam Simon, who is the only paid employee of the foundation. Simon came onboard 23 years ago under the foundation leadership of the late Larry Neal, the late Charles Bristow and the late Walt Hurley.
“We have had amazing volunteer support over the years, particularly in leadership roles,” said Simon. “Whenever things would get bad, our leadership would come up with new innovations to keep the festival going.”
Some of these innovations were introducing wine and beer tasting areas, reintroducing the car show that was part of the very first 1958 Urbanna Day festival, expanding children’s activities, expanding the waterfront and introducing the Oyster Festival Marine Science Legacy Program, and working to restore Urbanna Creek by working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to plant shells and spat in the creek.
“We do a lot more during the year than people realize,” said Simon. “The festival is not just about that first weekend in November, but we are sure looking forward to having it again.”
The festival was significantly scaled back last year due to COVID-19. Festival officials met with Dr. Richard S. Williams of the Three Rivers Health District two weeks ago and have decided that it is safe enough to offer the 64th annual festival in its complete form.
