You wouldn’t know it from looking at the plaza but on Saturday the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival held its 30th annual event. This time, due to the ban on mass gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19, Arcata Main Street held the food festival virtually with host Shoshanna introducing live streaming musical guests, pre-recorded video […]
Arcata Bay Oyster Festival
Posted inEat + Drink
Online Oyster Fest’s Menu
Like the mollusk itself, much of the information about this weekend’s Arcata Bay Oyster Festival developed in secret. But now, on the cusp of its opening, the slow rollout of details is complete and all is revealed, including the players and schedule for this first virtual iteration of the annual food festival. A press release […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Arcata Main Street’s Virtual Oyster Fest Kits
As the rollout of details about this month’s virtual Oyster Fest continues, Arcata Main Street has unveiled its kits for celebrating at home. The at-home festival packages are available for pre-order through the organization’s website for $140-$160. They include beer, wine or cider from local purveyors Eel River Brewing Co., Mad River Brewing Co., Gyppo Ale […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Virtual Oyster Fest
As the days grow warmer and COVID-19 lingers, bivalve enthusiasts have wondered what’s to become of the 30th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, née Oyster Fest. On Saturday, May 23, the answer came, at least partially, from Arcata Main Street’s Facebook page and website. The all-day seafood, beer and music binge is going virtual June […]
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Oyster Fest Shucks Crowds for Virtual Event
As the days grow warmer and COVID-19 lingers, bivalve enthusiasts have wondered what’s to become of the 30th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, née Oyster Fest. Today the answer came, at least partially, from Arcata Main Street’s Facebook page and website. The all-day seafood, beer and music binge is going virtual on June 20. “We […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos from Shuck Yeah
Did the out-of-town beer at Oyster Fest leave you with a bitter taste? If it did (or if you just didn’t want to drive up to Arcata) there was Shuck Yeah, an alternative celebration with local suds and oysters at the Eel River Brewing Co. this past weekend. The multi-brewery collaboration featured music by The […]
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Photos from Oyster Fest 2019
The 29th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival managed to pack the Arcata Plaza with thousands of attendees on Saturday, despite some unusual drama in the days before the event. First there was the local beer controversy and then the last-minute health crisis — oops, a math error, no crisis — regarding the safety of the […]
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All the Pretty Oysters
The drama. From the local beer debacle to the math error in a bacteria count that led health officials to temporarily close Humboldt Bay’s oyster fisheries two days before the festival, the lead-up to the 2019 Arcata Bay Oyster Festival was a lot. Head Oystress Sydney Morrone said she hadn’t heard of any oysters actually dumped […]
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Local Breweries Plan a Beer and Oyster Event on the Same Day as Oyster Fest
Six Rivers Brewery, Mad River Brewing Co. and Tap Room, Redwood Curtain Brewing Co., Lost Coast Brewery and The Booth Brewing Co. are getting together for a local beer showcase with oysters at Eel River Brewing Co. in Fortuna. They’re calling it Schuck Yeah and it’s set for June 15, the same day as the […]
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Pour One Out
Less than two months out from the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, controversy is again bubbling up over beer at Arcata Main Street’s fundraiser. The event drew fire last year (“What is Going on with Beer at Oyster Fest?” May 11, 2018) for requiring donations rather than purchasing from local beverage companies and only pouring Redwood […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Best Oysters on the Plaza
On Saturday morning, as locals and tourists were still making their way to the plaza from distant parking spaces and (one hopes) slathering on sunscreen, 18 judges crowded around a trio of awkward tables in the lobby of the Jacoby Storehouse. Volunteers brought in candidates for Best Raw, Best Cooked and Best Non-oyster at the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos from the Oyster Festivities
Thousands of attendees consumed tens of thousands of oysters at the 28th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival on Saturday. The traditional event featured the usual long lines at the favorite award-winning oyster vendors and added a number of new entertainment features, including the Mermaid Lounge and silent disco, to the usual line up of oyster […]