By 10:15 a.m., parking was scarce, revelers were flowing onto the plaza and the first entries for Best Raw Oyster at the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival were teetering toward the judges on an ice-packed tray. By noon, the staff was tallying ballots, and by 1:40 p.m., the winners were on the books and volunteer coordinator […]
Arcata Bay Oyster Festival
Posted inNews
What Is Going On With the Beer at Oyster Fest?
The Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, a notoriously big and boozy annual celebration of all things bivalve, has been the subject of a rumor mill in the hops-and-barley set lately. Several local brewery owners told the Journal that the event — which in the past has seen its organizers dogged by controversy about their choices to […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Early Oyster Fest Lineup
Maybe you can still revel in the moment when it’s this chilly and rainy out, but we’re dreaming of sunshine and looking at the early lineup for the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival on June 16, when we’ll be ambling around in the sunshine with stainless steel beer cups and slurping the fruits of Humboldt’s waters […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Bivalve Bacchanal
You could get just about any creative approach to raw or barbecued oysters on Saturday at the 27th annual Oyster Festival in Arcata – except oyster-flavored ice cream. Staff from Humboldt Creamery, who were passing out free ice cream in the Family Fun Zone, said they might work on that for next year. The Arcata […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Best of the Oyster Fest
Upsets and new blood (brine?) marked this year’ Arcata Bay Oyster Festival. As crowds swarmed the plaza, lining up for paper trays of oysters, judges (myself among them) sampled entrants in the Best Raw, Best Cooked, Best Non-oyster and, for the first time this year, Best in Show. The new Best in Show category, according […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Oyster Fest 2016
How is everybody feeling today? If you were at the 26th annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival yesterday you might be a little wobbly, a little sunburned, a little tired — maybe all of the above. The sun was out and so was Humboldt (along with a hearty crowd of out-of-towners), reveling in the fruit of […]
Posted inStories
Get Aqua Cultured
Whether you’re in town for a few days or have lived here 30 years, a Humboldt Bay oyster tour must be put at the top of your adventuring bucket list. It offers a perspective of Humboldt County and the oyster industry you just can’t get from land. With the mountains in the distance and salt-spiked […]
Posted inStories
Summer Music Festival Guide
The 24th Annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival. Bivalves are front and center, but the local music lineup touches all the bases including Bayou Swamis, Striped Pig Stringband, the Jim Lahman Band, Motherlode (working the fest circuit this summer) and Best Kept Secret with the ad hoc All Star Rockoystra, whose members are being kept secret. Saturday, June […]