It’s that time of year once again. When, for oyster lovers, the St. Mary’s County fairgrounds near Leonardtown transform to nirvana. Oysters served up raw, scalded, grilled on the barbie, on bread, on the half shell, stewed, nude, cooked in savory sauces, in salads, even in desserts, just about every way imaginable and then some. They’re here for the eating and enjoying at the 45th Annual St. Mary’s County Oyster Festival. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 15th and 16th at the Fairgrounds on Route 5 just south of Leonardtown.
The idea of the oyster festival was first hatched back in 1967 when the Lexington Park Rotary Club was looking for a project in which the entire membership could involve itself for the good of all concerned. In addition to the member’s involvement, the festival had three main objectives:
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Promote a weekend of fun, food and fellowship in a rural atmosphere
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Promote the bounties of life in this land of pleasant living, especially St. Mary’s County oysters, as an attraction to visitors
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Provide funds to benefit the charities of the various participating service and civic organizations
A little under a thousand visitors relished this first endeavor. Through the years, attendance steadily grew, as did the festival. In 1974, the festival went from a one-day event to a two-day event and was moved from the first weekend in October to the third weekend in October where it remains today. Today, the St. Mary’s Oyster Festival is one of the Eastern Seaboard’s leading folk festivals. Good food, quality entertainment and two nationally recognized contests, the National Oyster Cook-off and the U.S. National Oyster Shucking Contest, are the elements that attract visitors from across the country each year.
“Oysters any way you like ’em’” have always been the trademark of the festival, and this year is no different. Visitors can stroll around the festival midway and sample the delicious bivalves served in chowder and stew, raw, fried, grilled, scalded, and on a sandwich. If you can’t get enough, oysters will be available “to go” in pints and quarts. Seafood lovers can feast on a delicious range of specialties like scallops wrapped in bacon, fried clams, crab cakes, shrimp, fried fish, crab soups and seafood and clam chowders. For those who might be hesitant about all of that seafood, other dishes will be available. Polish and Italian sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, barbecue, chicken tenders and sweet potato fries are just a few of the non-seafood options. Of course, no event in Southern Maryland is complete without our world famous stuffed ham sandwiches, so be sure to leave some room! Volunteers from numerous local non-profit organizations make the event run smoothly by cooking and serving most of the food, contributing to the funds available to charitable causes.
On Saturday, nine finalists from across the country will compete to determine the nation’s premier oyster chef in the National Oyster Cook-off. Their recipes were chosen from nearly 150 entries submitted by contestants from coast to coast. The finalists will cook their fresh oyster specialty dishes for a panel of six expert judges. The judges are: John Shields, Owner of Gertrude’s Restaurant, cookbook author, and MPT cooking show star, Vicki Milburn, editor for Southern Maryland- This is Living Magazine, and Betty
