Thousands came to the 68th Urbanna Oyster Festival for different reasons. It was a fashion show. There was music, shopping, and foods to tempt the palate.
For some it was a homecoming of sorts… you might see people that you only see at the Oyster Festival, or people you hadn’t seen in years. There was lots of chatter, hugs and handshakes as the cares of the world were many miles from this tiny waterfront town.
Most found what they were looking for — a happy place. “With so many people facing hard times and the negativity, it’s good to come to a place where the mood is light and everyone is happy,” said Dahlia Avent of Richmond, who with her daughter Deja, waited in line 20 minutes for oysters at the Middlesex County Kiwanis Club tent. “It was worth the wait,” said Dahlia Avent, whose serving of oysters had a tiny crab hiding in one of them.
This was their first stop. They were headed to get some “killer” crab soup.
Also at the Kiwanis tent were Tom and Marilyn Jeffers of Williamsburg, who were staying on their boat in Remlik. “It’s fun and a good atmosphere where people let their hair down, and it helps the local economy,” she said. “We come to the same tent every year.”
Tom Jeffers explained that they have a tradition—they have to see someone they know at the festival before they can eat oysters. “Every year we run into somebody we know.” On Friday, they ran into a man that Tom Jeffers worked with. “I hadn’t seen him in years,” he said, as they polished off 18 oysters.
“Loved it.”
Shelley Winter, originally from Shawano, Wis., who now lives in Gloucester, was about to try her first oyster ever, at the urging of her neighbor Linda Stanislav who invited her to the Oyster Festival. Winter made an “oyster cookie” by sandwiching an oyster between two crackers. “Loved it,” said Winter.
“We’ve never been this busy on a Friday,” said Dick Goyne, who managed the Kiwanis tent. Indeed, the serpentine lines stretched into the parking lot.
Over at the Aylett Country Day School tent, 18-month-old Everett Key enjoyed his first taste of oysters, said his father Stone, of King George. Crackers dunked in oyster stew seemed a good combination.
Remember
Brad Cavedo recognized a Sentinel reporter who had taken a photo of him and his group at the Oyster Festival decades ago. They talked long enough for the reporter to find out he is a Circuit Court Judge in Richmond. Cavedo had sailed from Lancaster to the festival. The reporter eventually remembered the photo of the group wearing realistic looking masks, and he is determined to find it in the archives.
Long distance
The greatest distance traveled probably goes to Dr. Katherine Hillebrand DVM of Santa Monica, Calif. The Golden State resident booked her flight in April and was visiting friends in Charlottesville, said the 2003 graduate of the University of Virginia. Dr. Hillebrand and Laura Rush relaxed in a warm sun people watching on Rappahannock Avenue.
Home comfort
A short distance away, at Martha Lowe’s home, she had prepared a table of food for the many people that know they are always welcome at Oyster Festival time. “Some come every year, others come infrequently. They’re all here this year. It’s really fun . . . It’s a weekend of laughter and camaraderie.”
This is true for thousands who come to Virginia’a Official Oyster Festival every November.
