Urbanna Oyster Festival

Virginia Seafood Festival
Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula

The Urbanna Oyster Festival, held annually in the Fall, is a major Virginia event for the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck Virginia.

The popular seafood festival marks the unofficial end of the summer season here.

Held the first weekend in November every year, the oyster festival crowds can be staggering in size—often topping 75,000 visitors. That’s big anywhere—but in this quiet community—it’s huge!

Oysters top the menu, of course. But there are many other delightful and interesting foods to choose from, at the many stands and booths offering food.

My best advice is to get there early, as the food stands have been known to run out of the most popular delicacy being sold—oysters!

What Can You Expect
at the Oyster Festival?

• Oysters - No matter how you like them, you’ll find them here… raw, roasted, fried, smoked, steamed, in fritters or in an oyster stew.

• Festival foods - clams, crabs, shrimp, Philly Steak, Chinese, hamburgers, hot dogs, roast beef and all kinds of desserts.

• Art and Crafts - Perhaps you can get some of your Christmas shopping done. You’ll see handmade furniture, stained glass, wood carvings, sculpture, pottery, leather goods and jewelry.

• Firemen’s Parade - held Friday evening. This has become one of the more popular events at the festival.

• Oyster Festival Parade - Held Saturday. You’ll see antique cars, floats, Shriners, marching bands, beauty queens and their courts (from across the state).

• Oyster Festival Queen and Little Miss Spat - The festival queen is chosen from among Middlesex high school seniors and Little Miss Spat (a spat is a baby oyster) is a local first grade girl.

• Oyster Shucking Contest - Good at oyster shucking? Or a professional shucker? Professional shuckers from Virginia compete for the championship. And the winner goes to St. Mary’s Maryland to compete there for the national championship. Bet you didn’t know there was such a thing!Speed counts, but so does presentation, clean separation from the shell—and how much of a mess you make.

• Music and dancing - on the waterfront

• History lessons - Board a traditional vessel and learn about native Americans and colonial times on the waterfront.

• Children’s activities – fun activities for children like jugglers, puppet shows, face painting and crafts.

People arrive at the Oyster Festival in different ways. Many like to come by boat. If you do, you can use the dinghy dock at Upton’s Point Marina.

The Urbanna Oyster Festival has free admission. However, if you come by car, there is a parking fee charged. The proceeds go to support the next year’s festival.

The Oyster Festival is one of the most popular Virginia fall festivals. If you are looking for activities and events in Virginia for the fall, make sure you don’t miss this one.

Urbanna Oyster Festival to Virginia Events

Urbanna Oyster Festival to Northern Neck Virginia

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