Well, yesterday, September 16th, was a great day for our annual Oyster Roast. With well over 200 people attending, we quickly went through nearly 20 bushels of oysters, over 10 gallons of clam chowder, and lots of sides and delightful desserts. Our oysters came from five different local providers. WestRock, the company that operates the paper mill in West Point, was our Gold-level sponsor for the event. And, Julie Anne and friends from Julie Anne Seafood even shucked their delicious raw oysters, fresh caught less than five hours earlier within minutes away from our dock. LCV Project provided great music as a backdrop while people enjoyed superb weather, fantastic food, and a wonderful social setting. This is typically one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. And, yesterday was no exception. We’re just starting to compile numbers, but we already know that this is going to be a record breaker. Thank you to everyone that came out. And, for those of you that missed it, we promise to have this event again next September.
Not resting for long, we have another great festival coming up, our annual Folk Festival. On September 23rd and 24th, this FREE festival, sponsored by the Yorktown Arts Foundation, features over 20 musical artists including our own ShantyGrass, Bob Zentz, LCV Project, Ralph Motley, Billy Joe Trio, Jalen Pryor, and many others. We’ll have music performed on our two large stage areas as well as at small performance areas on our beach and adjacent to Patriot Tours and Carrot Tree Kitchens in the Riverwalk complex. The music starts Saturday at 10 AM and again on Sunday at noon. Come join us for a wide range of music, good food, a cool beverage, or even some ice cream from our friends at Ben and Jerry’s in Yorktown.
And looking forward to November 11th, get ready for our annual Chili Cook-Off. Like the Oyster Roast, we’ve been conducting this fundraiser for over a decade. We haven’t even officially advertised for teams to compete and we already have nearly a dozen teams saying they want to contend for awards in multiple categories, including the coveted People’s Choice Award. Like our other festivals, we are thankful for the support of our Cook-Off sponsors including WestRock, Carrot Tree Kitchens Restaurants, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Patriot Tours and Provisions, Julie Anne Seafood, and Chesapeakeville magazine.
So, that’s a quick look at our year-end fundraisers. But, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the Maritime Heritage Festival on October 14th and 15th. Come explore our regional and national maritime history at this event which features music, craft markets and hands-on crafts, colonial maritime trades, and more. Exhibitors and re-enactors will also celebrate the American victory in 1781 Battle of Yorktown.
