Ocean State Oyster Festival

Rhode Islands's Premier Oyster Festival

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Celebrating Rhode Island's
Unique Oyster Culture

In October 2022, The City of Providence hosts this 9th annual event.

Rowan Jacobsen, author of A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America, may have summed up the region's oyster industry best when he stated: "We can thank the jumbled geology of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the amazing variety of oysters found there. As the area awakens to the glory of its local oysters, more and more growers are investing the time and energy to grow premium oysters, knowing that the market will reward them. Quite a turnaround from the DOA status of the New England industry just decades ago."

In the fall each year we get together to celebrate and recognize the oyster as a treasured natural resource in Rhode Island with the largest collection of oyster farms from the Ocean State assembled at one time; partner with the Nature Conservancy of R.I. to rebuild natural habitat reefs; and help support the Ocean State Aquaculture Association.

Together, let's help sustain this important and lasting legacy by supporting our local oyster farmers and their ecosystem, Narragansett Bay and its estuaries! The Ocean State Oyster Festival's goal is to help honor and preserve this legacy.

More...

Rowan Jacobsen, author of A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America, may have summed up the region's oyster industry best when he stated: "We can thank the jumbled geology of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the amazing variety of oysters found there. As the area awakens to the glory of its local oysters, more and more growers are investing the time and energy to grow premium oysters, knowing that the market will reward them. Quite a turnaround from the DOA status of the New England industry just decades ago."

Together, let's help sustain this important and lasting legacy by supporting our local oyster farmers and their ecosystem, Narragansett Bay and its estuaries! The Ocean State Oyster Festival's goal is to help honor and preserve this legacy.

The Ocean State Oyster Festival aims to:

Raise awareness of, and celebrate, Rhode Island’s aquaculture industry; Provide a platform that helps expand Rhode Island's aquaculture economy; Support education programs for the public on the environmental sustainability of Narragansett Bay.

Proud member of the Ocean State Aquaculture Association

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn about RI Oyster Farming

  • "Suspending the oysters in that top foot of the bay gives them access to the most nutrient-rich water that they can get." - via Rhode Island Monthly
  • "Opton-Himmel’s farm is one of a growing number of local operations that are ensuring the oyster population remains healthy and intact." - via Why Rhode Island is doing oysters right - Grist
  • “Oysters are like wine. They take on the flavor and texture of where they are grown” - via Pond to plate in South Kingstown - The Boston Globe

More...

  • "... In a few short years, his business has gone from one man's clam and oyster beds to one of the largest employers in the area, with over 100 employees..." - via Growing Oysters, And Jobs, In Rhode Island - NPR

Resources

  • RI Shellfish Management Plan (RISMP)
  • RISMP Plan
  • Ocean State Shellfish Cooperative
  • RISMP VIDEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Nguyen

Oyster Farmer Liaison

don(at)oysterfestri(dot)com


Don is an award-winning designer with over 20 years of design and prototype experience since...

Don's Bio

Don

Get to know Don

Don is an award-winning designer with over 20 years of design and prototype experience since leaving the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1991. He has worked with such clients as Braun and Gillette, Lockheed Martin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Chessawonock Island Oyster Company, Eaton Corporation, EAW and contractors such as Haliburton and the United States
Department of Defense.

He has served as an adjunct faculty member at RISD's Industrial Design department, and currently serves on the faculty of New England Institute of Technology's (NEIT) Engineering department.

In 1992, Don founded Providence Machine and Tool Works with a focus on product development and design, fabrication and prototyping. In 2010, he founded WIT Design with interest in combining art and industry.

He is presently developing rugged touch screen computers that have been deployed in law enforcement vehicles including North Providence Police Department and the New York State Police.

Don is also an avid fisherman and lover of Narragansett Bay.

    Frank Mullin

    Identity, Event Programming & Communications

    frank(at)oysterfestri(dot)com


    Native to the great state of Rhode Island, Frank is an editorial photographer and designer...

    Frank's Bio

    Frank Mullin

    Get to know Frank

    Native to the great state of Rhode Island, Frank is an editorial photographer and designer. By day he shoots, does production, and web work at the Alumni Magazine at Brown, also for various publications and organizations throughout RI. Frank has an undying love for the city of Providence and the state as a whole, likes the color blue, live music, old Volvos, and traveling. He is seriously considering getting a dog, and of course, loves oysters.

      DAVE ROEBUCK

      Oyster Farmer/Food Truck Wrangler

       


      Growing up commercially lobstering with his dad, uncle, and brothers...

      Dave's Bio

      Dave

      Get to know Dave

      Growing up commercially lobstering with his dad, uncle, and brothers, Dave spent no less than fourteen summers working off the coast of Block Island. For five winters after college he packaged squid and caught scallops and ground fish with his brother Chris on the boat Karen Elizabeth. In 2002, Dave started Salt Pond Oyster Company and has been growing oysters ever since. In 2012 he bought a truck, called it the Shuckin' Truck, and has been selling his oysters and family's catch, preparing unique and creative seafood dishes such as scallop rolls, lobster tacos and fish tacos, along with fresh salt pond oysters and littlenecks. Here's looking forward to seeing you at OysterFest!

        The Ocean State Oyster Festival, held annually in the fall, celebrates locally grown oysters and aquaculture in Rhode Island.

        Save The Date

        9TH ANNUAL Oct. 7, 2023
        1pm - 7pm
        River Walk Park, Providence, RI

        General Inquiries:

        info(at)oysterfestri(dot)com 

        Media Inquiries:

        Frank Mullin
         frank(at)oysterfestri(dot)com 

        Sponsorship Inquiries:

        Trixie Wadson
         Trixie(at)oysterfestri(dot)com 

         

        Copyright © 2015–2023 Ocean State Oyster Festival. Handcrafted by Studio Issa. Photography by Frank Mullin
        Proud member of the Ocean State Aquaculture Association (OSAA)