Milford Oyster Festival Explained

Begins:10:00 A.M. EDT (UTC-4)
Ends:6:00 P.M. EDT
Date:Third Saturday in August
Frequency:Annual
Location:Milford, Connecticut, USA
First:Saturday, 23 August 1975
Genre:cultural festival
Participants:50,000–60,000 annual approx.
Website:http://www.milfordoysterfestival.org/
Footnotes:Next –

Milford Oyster Festival, sometimes shortened to "Oysterfest," is an annual cultural festival held on the third Saturday of August throughout the city of Milford, Connecticut. As a major tourist attraction, billed as the largest one-day festival in the New England region[1] and listed among the top 10 annual events in Connecticut,[2] the Oyster Festival draws over 50,000 attendees each year.[3] [4] It is planned by the non-profit organization Annual Milford Oyster Festival, inc. (AMOF), largely run by volunteers.

The festival hosts a wide variety of activities for all ages, including arts, crafts, music, sports, amusement rides, food, and oyster shucking.[5] [6] [7]

History

The first Milford Oyster Festival was held on the Milford Green and Fowler Field on 23 August 1975.[8] Major founders of the oysterfest include Diano Nytko, first chairperson of the Milford Chamber of Commerce,[9] [10] and Robert N. Cooke, for whom the Bob Cooke Skin Cancer Foundation was named.[11]

Since then the oyster festival has become firmly established as an annual Milford tradition, held rain or shine.[12] [13] In the past, the oysterfest was held over two days, but that proved to be too much a burden on the organizers.[14]

While initially established as an oyster festival, the presence of actual oysters gradually faded after some time and were absent for many years outside of the festival's name.[14] In 2005, oysters returned to the festival, provided by the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association.[15] They have been there ever since.

Starting in 2009, Milford began requiring that the non-profit AMOF reimburse the city, which spends $30,000–50,000 to host the festival each year. As a result of this decision, AMOF could no longer allow other local non-profits to sell beer at the event, as it is a major source of income for many of the non-profits. This led Alderman Ben Blake to express concern that the festival may "lose its local flavor" as "nonprofit groups [are driven] out of the Oyster Festival food court."[16]

In 2019 and resuming in 2021, all oysters in the festival are harvested from Milford waters, provided by Briarpatch Enterprises, Inc.[17]

The 2020 festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival will be held as usual in 2021. Although no festival was held in the previous year, which would have been the 46th, the festival committee decided to refer to the 2021 festival the 47th Annual Milford Oyster Festival "to recognize the year that didn't occur."[18]

Musical acts

Every festival also includes a headliner band.[19]

Headliner by year

Fundraising

Many local and regional businesses, non-profits, and governmental groups have sponsored the event, including NBC Universal, TD Bank, and Whole Foods Market.[4]

Money raised by AMOF during the festival has been donated for charitable purposes. In 2010, the major fundraiser of the festival was for Gulf coast fishing communities, whose oyster industries were struggling after being shut down by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[32]

Notable participants

Surrounding events

On the Friday evening before the oysterfest, there is a surrounding event called "Oyster Eve," which includes activities such as dancing, dining, and a 90-minute cruise on an 80adj=midNaNadj=mid schooner around the Long Island Sound.[4] Around 1,500 people came to downtown Milford for Oyster Eve in 2010.[13]

In 2010, the Daniel Street nightclub began hosting what they dubbed the "Inaugural Oyster Festival After Party" on the evening after the main events close.[36] This year completes years. There was no 2020 after party.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Brooks, Patricia and Lester Brooks. Food Lovers' Guide to Connecticut. Globe Pequot, 2007.,
  2. http://www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-connecticut.html Top 10 Events in Connecticut
  3. McCready, Brian. "Come out of that shell for Milford Oyster Festival; entertainment for the whole family ." New Haven Register. Friday, August 20, 2010.
  4. Web site: 45th Annual Milford Oyster Festival. Milford Oyster Festival. August 26, 2019. August 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190826031851/https://milfordoysterfestival.com/. live.
  5. "Milford Oyster Festival: Soul Asylum tops bill at annual event ." Connecticut Post. Tuesday, August 17, 2010.
  6. Juliano, Frank. "Oysters take center stage at Milford festival ." Connecticut Post. Saturday, August 21, 2010
  7. Web site: Milford Chamber of Commerce – Tourism and Recreation. https://web.archive.org/web/20100823021059/http://milfordct.com/tourthings.htm. dead. August 23, 2010. August 26, 2019.
  8. Albright, John B. "Notes: Bargains in U.S. For Foreign Tourists; Notes: Skytrain Runs Into Snag ." The New York Times. August 10, 1975.
  9. http://www.milfordct.com/bushistory_54.htm Milford Chamber Through the Years, 1954–2004
  10. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-08-27 . 2011-07-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110710142901/http://www.documentclarity.com/skin%20cancer%20info%20program_web.pdf . live .
  11. http://www.rncwalk.com/Bio_Robert.html ROBERT N. COOKE
  12. "Milford Oyster Festival 2010 ." Daily Postal. August 21, 2010
  13. Misur, Susan. "Annual Oyster Festival draws thousands in Milford ." New Haven Register. Sunday, August 22, 2010
  14. Guerrera, Lori A. "32nd Annual Milford Oyster Festival Saturday, Aug. 19, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.." Milford Weekly. August 17, 2006.
  15. "Successful Milford Oyster Festival 2006 ." ECSGA Newsletter- Volume 2:06. November 30, 2006.
  16. Tinley, James. "Oyster festival will have only 1 beer vendor ." New Haven Register. Friday, April 9, 2010.
  17. News: Dion . Jill . 2019-08-17 . Briar Blue oyster was star at this year's Oyster Fest . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190818035448/http://www.milfordmirror.com/news/article/Briar-Blue-oyster-was-star-at-this-year-s-14340828.php . 2019-08-18 . 2021-06-16.
  18. Ila Tokarz, Chaz and AJ . 2021-05-04 . Tuesday, May 4: The Sock Guy Received Ashley's Socks; The Guy Who Mailed Himself Across The Pacific in A Crate; Milford Oyster Festival Update . English . 2021-06-16 . 32:52 . Chaz & AJ in the Morning .
  19. http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/milfordmirror/news/localnews/68028-music-takes-center-stage-at-oyster-festival.html
  20. News: Southside Johnny to headline 2021 Milford Oyster Festival. 8 June 2021 . Flores, Saul . The Milford Mirror . 1 March 2022.
  21. News: Dion. Jill K.. Kansas headlines this year's Oyster Fest. May 20, 2012. Milford Mirror. May 17, 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20120713093251/http://milfordmirror.com/news/milford-features/local-news/81221.html. July 13, 2012.
  22. Web site: Calendar . 2011-06-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110809185833/http://marshalltucker.com/ce-4214-37th-annual-milford-oyster-festival-milford-ct.html . 2011-08-09 . dead .
  23. News: John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band to play Milford Oyster Festival. Sean. Spillane. Staff. Writer. September 1, 2009. NewsTimes. August 26, 2019. August 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190826093857/https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/John-Cafferty-and-the-Beaver-Brown-Band-to-play-2604.php. live.
  24. Web site: The Official Website of Foghat! . 2010-08-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100304152111/http://www.foghat.net/oldtour.htm . 2010-03-04 .
  25. The Smithereens Announce More Tour Dates! . Marketwire . Mar. 12, 2007 07:22 PM
  26. Web site: Spin Doctors Live at Milford Oyster Festival on 2006-08-19. August 19, 2006. August 26, 2019. Internet Archive.
  27. Web site: It's That Time of the Year: The 2011 Milford Oyster Festival. Lydia. Lucas. August 26, 2019. August 26, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160826093427/http://www.lydiatherealtor.com/blog/its-that-time-of-the-year-the-2011-milford-oyster-festival/. live.
  28. Web site: 2004 Calendar of Performanve Dates / David Foster & the Mohegan Sun All-Stars . 2010-09-01 . 2011-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716050014/http://www.shabooproductions.com/dates2004.html . live .
  29. Web site: Reviews . 2010-09-01 . 2011-05-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110501074502/http://www.markemerick.com/reviews.htm . live .
  30. Web site: Main Stage Entertainment . 2014-06-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140117143059/http://www.milfordoysterfestival.org/index.php/entertainment-a-events/main-stage-entertainment . 2014-01-17 .
  31. Book: 1999 Milford Oyster Festival Official Program Guide . August 21, 1999 . Milford Oyster Festival Committee . Unnumbered page 16 . y.
  32. Yannetti, Terri. "Oyster Festival to aid Gulf Coast oyster industry ." Milford-Orange Bulletin. Wednesday, August 18, 2010.
  33. Gov. Rell with Nanci Seltzer at the Milford Oyster Festival YouTube. August 25, 2008
  34. "Behind the Scenes on the Campaign Trail with Linda McMahon ." Fox News. Tuesday, August 24, 2010.
  35. Smith, John A. Little Fish Big Pond. iUniverse, 2003. . Page 22.
  36. Web site: Eventful: Frank Viele & the Manhattan Project – 1st Annual Oyster Festival After Party. Eventful. August 26, 2019. August 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190826093856/https://eventful.com/milford/events/frank-viele-manhattan-project-1st-annual-oyster-f-/E0-001-031279555-4. live.

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