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.