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 […]
oysters
Posted inEat + Drink
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 […]
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 […]
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
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 inNews (NCJ)
Humboldt Bay to Turn Red in Name of Science
Some water testing next week may leave those in and around Humboldt Bay seeing red. The California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that they will begin a series of water tests March 14 that will include dumping a non-toxic, fluorescent red dye — Rhodamine WT — into the […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Conflict of Interest Lawsuit Filed Against Harbor District; Commissioner Dismisses Suit as ‘Political Ploy’
Long-time local taxpayers’ advocate Leo Sears filed a conflict of interest lawsuit today, alleging that the Humboldt County Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District violated state law when it accepted a loan from Coast Seafoods and then gave the company a lease extension to cultivate oysters on hundreds of acres of tidelands in Humboldt Bay. Specifically, […]
Posted inStories
Shell Game
We are skidding through the water of Humboldt Bay, the dock of Coast Seafoods receding behind us as we head toward the oyster fields. It’s a crisp morning, with the gray-blue water and navy sky colluding to form a rim of bright silver at the horizon. “Everyone should know what a good oyster looks and […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Last of the Liquors Leave the Pulp Mill
The Samoa Pulp Mill is liquor free as of today. The nearly six-month process of hauling the three million gallons of abandoned caustic chemicals ended with a final truck heading northbound to Longview, Washington, where the pulping liquors are being reconstituted for use in a pulp mill there. Congressman Jared Huffman praised the efforts of […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Top 10 Stories of 2013
Summing up the tumult and transformations of a year in Humboldt County with only 10 stories is impossible. Collected here are some — definitely not all — of the events that stayed with us. For more on these stories, go to northcoastjournal.com. The Fires The communities tucked along the rivers in our mountains know fire. […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
The World Is Yours, Oyster Farmer
The oyster farmer stands in the stern of the small gray skiff, clear-eyed, a bit of smile on his wind-nipped, broad face. Weather’s supposed to turn nasty, but he’s just wearing waders over his jeans, a black cotton sweatshirt under his orange life vest, and a tan ball cap that doesn’t cover his ears. With […]