Museum Celebrates “History on the Half Shell” with Food, Music, and Fun
Mystic, Conn. (September 15, 2016) — Mystic Seaport will host the first ever Mystic River Oyster Festival on Saturday, October 1. The festival is a new event to celebrate the history, growing, and cuisine of the popular shellfish in Mystic and southern New England.
The Museum is opening its grounds to a variety of growers, restaurants, educational and advocacy organizations, and others with an interest in the cultivation, conservation, heritage, and eating of oysters. Visitors will be able to sample all sorts of oysters, both raw and in prepared dishes.
Participants include Mystic’s Oyster Club and Engine Room, the Noank Aquaculture Cooperative, Matunuck Oyster Bar, Fishers Island Oyster Farm, Behan Family Farms, Broad Street Kitchen, Jonathan Island Oyster Co., Norm Bloom & Son’s Copps Island Oysters, and Coastal Gourmet.
Mystic Knotworks and R. Murphy knives will be on hand to sell their wares.
Connecticut Sea Grant, Save the Bay, and CUSH (Clean Up Sound and Harbors) will be present to share information on aquaculture, shellfish conservation efforts, and clean water initiatives in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. Guest speakers from the Noank Oyster Cooperative and The Nature Conservancy will give presentations on oyster farming, aquaculture, and ocean preservation.
Throughout the day, the Museum’s historic interpreters will offers talks and demonstrations on the history of oystering and New England fisheries, and visitors can check out the Thomas Oyster House exhibit, the 1891 oyster sloop Nellie, and take in an oyster-shucking contest.
Live music will be provided by local musicians Craig Edwards and Don Sineti.
The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food service will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Mystic River Oyster Festival is free with regular Museum admission. Food is subject to an additional charge.
About Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The Museum’s collection of more than two million artifacts includes more than 500 historic vessels and one of the largest collections of maritime photography in the country. The state-of-the-art Collections Research Center at Mystic Seaport provides scholars and researchers from around the world access to the Museum’s renowned archives. Mystic Seaport is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $26 for adults and $17 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit https://mysticseaport.wpengine.com/ and follow Mystic Seaport on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
