Oyster Fest rebrands, plans new attractions as Town of Oyster Bay takes reins 

The Oyster Festival is back with a brand new shell.

The outdoor event, which annually draws more than 150,000 to the hamlet of Oyster Bay each fall, will now operate under the direction of the Town of Oyster Bay in cooperation with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce. The town is taking over for the Oyster Bay Rotary Club, which disbanded in August.

"The Town of Oyster Bay understands the focus and the balance of protecting the local store owners and being respectful of local residents while still providing Long Islanders with everything they want," says Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. "Whether it’s managing traffic, parking, the flow of pedestrians or organizing and designing the event, we take into consideration the needs of everyone."

The chamber helmed  the Oyster Festival from its inception in 1984 through 1999 at which point the baton was passed to the Oyster Bay Rotary Club in 2000, which ran it through 2023.

"Two of our past presidents, who oversaw the festival for a long time, passed away — Bev Zembko in December 2022 and Judy Wasilchuk December 2023. They took pride and care in every little detail and their memory should be honored," says former Rotary Club president Monica Rubin. "But the Rotary Club wasn’t really marketed, so it didn’t have a younger membership, therefore it started to dwindle. We made the decision to close it."

The 41st annual festival, which has been rebranded as Oyster Fest, returns to Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park on Oct. 19 and 20 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. This year, it is undergoing some new alterations as well as upholding old traditions.

"The look will be different, it will feel different and it will flow differently," says chamber president Ryan Schlotter, co-owner of the Oyster Bay Brewing Co.

MORE USER-FRIENDLY

One of the major issues with the Oyster Fest has involved complaints from Oyster Bay residents and local merchants regarding traffic congestion and lack of connection. "We are looking at how we can potentially redesign the flow of traffic and make sure we don’t have any choke points," says Andy Rothstein, Town of Oyster Bay’s director of operations.

LIVE MUSIC INCREASED

Live music will be back in full force, with all-day lineups across three stages; a significant increase from recent years.

The Main Stage and the Audrey Avenue Stage will showcase bands on Oct. 19, and 20. The West End Avenue Stage presents children’s entertainment acts such as Keri Wirth, The Gumdrops, Rebecca Wygand and Stacy & Athena.

NEW BEER GARDEN

The old beer tent gets transformed into the The Sands Beer Garden, which will be roped off for attendees 21 or over with valid photo ID. "There will be a large outdoor space on the grass creating a beer garden atmosphere with tables and a water view," says Rothstein. Oyster Bay Brewing Co. is providing the brew, from which there will be five seasonal favorites to choose..

EXPANDED MENU

More than 30 food trucks will come to the Tom Reardon Memorial Food Court. Long Island favorites such as The Steak Truck, Roadhouse Empanadas, How You Doggin, The Sausage Kings, Gino’s Pizza and Fat Boys BBQ Bus are already on board.

There will still be the traditional seafood court serving fried shrimp, seafood salad, fried oysters, lobster mac-n-cheese, seared scallops, ahi tuna, lobster rolls, linguine with clam sauce and fried calamari. But the star of the show will be oysters on the half shell from Oyster Bay’s own Cooper Bluff.

"If you’re coming to a festival in Oyster Bay, the oysters should be from Long Island," says Russ Lundstrum, owner of Cooper Bluff. He adds the fest will exclusively feature Long Island oysters for the first time in many years.

RETURNING TRADITIONS

A full carnival with rides and midway games, presented by Newton Shows, will return to the Beekman Beach parking lot at the end of West End Avenue. The Oyster Shucking & Eating contests are scheduled to take place Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. The Kings of the Coast’s pirate encampment is coming back, with multiple shows each day where children can help find a buried treasure. More than 100 local artisans are set to sell their handcrafted wares. And the John J. Harvey fireboat, which can pump up to 18,000 gallons of water a minute, will be docked at the pier to educate folks about its over 90-year history of service to the FDNY, including its legendary rescue following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

NONPROFIT INVOLVEMENT

Money will still be distributed into the Oyster Bay community as local nonprofit organizations can submit an application to be part of the grant distribution process that will stem from the festival’s earnings, which will be monitored by an independent committee.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.