Oyster lovers are preparing for the return of a festival centered on the shellfish. The Fort Morgan Oyster Fest will be back in south Alabama for February 24 and Feb. 25. This is the second year the festival is happening.
The event will have activities for festival goers to participate in and will give back to a local charity. Alabama Coastal Foundation’s Executive Director Mark Berte said the organization was invited back to be the charity of choice for the festival.
“The Navy Cove Oysters, they invited us to participate last year, their first Fort Morgan Oyster Fest right there at the Beach Club and Resort and Spa. And this year, we got a very nice call from the organizers saying that the Alabama Coastal Foundation will be the charity of choice this year to support our oyster shell recycling program,” Berte said.
The event has a wide range of activities for festivalgoers to partake in. The event that most people are excited for is the oyster-shucking contest.
“There is a cash prize for the fastest shucker. However, it's just a fun way to kind of see what what's usually happening behind the scenes and restaurants, you can see how an oyster is shucked. But these professionals, they do it so quickly. And then you get to eat the oyster afterwards,” Berte said.
He also said for those who do not like oysters or seafood, there are non-seafood options available.
Berte also said that oysters are essential for Alabama’s economy and ecosystem.
“Oysters really do such wonderful things for not only our economy, it's a big part of our economy that shucking oysters in particular for other communities as well. But also they help to filter water, clean the water [and] they also protect the shorelines from eroding. They [also] protect the inlands from bad weather events. So they do a lot of wonderful things, including providing habitat for other shellfish and finfish local to [the] coastal Alabama.”
The demand for oysters has also increased in the past 15 years. Alabama News Center reports in 2009, Alabama had zero oyster farms, now there are over a dozen oyster farms currently operating in the state.
To learn more about the Fort Morgan Oyster Festival, visit their website here.
