May 06, 2024
How many shells could a person shuck on the Delaware River waterfront this summer? If they've got a ticket to Philly's largest oyster fest, at least a few dozen.
Shuckfest is coming back to Liberty Point next month for another day of slurps by the sea. A dozen oyster farms from New Jersey will offer "meet-greet-and-eat" tastings of their briniest, slimiest specimens at the Penn's Landing restaurant from noon-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 2. The vendors include Cape May Salt Oyster Farms, Barnegat Oyster Collective, Brigantine Oyster Company and Sweet Amalia, a perennially lauded farm and kitchen that made the James Beard Award semifinals in 2023.
Visitors can also learn how to pry open the mollusks from the pros at shucking tutorials, or watch them compete in a shucking competition graded on speed and accuracy. (Broken shells will earn penalties.) The five-piece Philly band Gypsy Wisdom will provide a live soundtrack for the proceedings.
The oyster festival doubles as a fundraiser for the Jetty Rock Foundation and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, nonprofits which work to protect local waterways. Tickets are $80, but kids 15 and younger can enter for free — and make oyster shell jewelry at a craft table on site.
Sunday, June 2 | Noon-3:30 p.m.
General admission: $80
Liberty Point
211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia
Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.