Aw-Shucks! Milford Oyster Festival

Although shucking oysters was not one of our tasks, we certainly had a great time volunteering at the 49th Annual Milford Oyster Festival. This festival featured crafts, food booths, oyster shucking contests, canoe and kayak races, a vintage car show and entertainment. It offered over 30,000 local oysters harvested in Milford, by the Briarpatch Shellfish Company. On August 19th, Arlene and I enjoyed a wonderful, sunny day in downtown Milford. The downtown area includes a beautiful historic green, the Milford Harbor and many boutique shops and restaurants. We began our day at the Fowler Memorial Building, where we signed in and enjoyed coffee and bagels (yum!). We changed into our volunteer shirts and headed to our first assignment.

We were assigned to Main Street USA on the green to check in the arts/crafts vendors from 7 am-noon. We power walked to the gazebo to meet with Cathy to get the specifics. She let us know she had plenty of help for the arts/crafts vendors and sent us to meet Michelle who was located next to the Volunteer Fire Department's Memorial Bell Statue. Michelle was thankful for our help and gave us a clipboard with all of the important information to check in local businesses. The representatives checked in with us to get their table number, a tablecloth and a garbage bag. Lucky for us, the table numbers were hung on the front of the tents and easy to find. Once everyone was checked in, we walked around to make sure everyone was set. Arlene quickly became an expert in making sure electrical wires were secured. She had her electrical tape handy and made sure all wires were safely taped to the ground. Our volunteer shirts made us easy targets for questions, which we happily answered.

At noon, we headed back to the Fowler Memorial Building to get our next task. This was fun! We were tasked with walking around the festival for the next two hours to pass out paper fans and brochures with maps/schedules on them. “Fans! Schedules! Maps!” We repeated this happily for two hours. We had many appreciative takers. What Arlene did not know was that the Oyster Festival is a sort of mini reunion for Milfordites. I was excited to see who I would run into. I was so happy to see some former colleagues, former students, old classmates and neighbors. We even ran into one of my favorite Veterans, Mr Bill.

When our volunteer adventure had ended, we decided to relax and enjoy a wonderful lunch and beverage at Stonebridge Restaurant. We had a table next to the Wepawaug River overlooking the fountain. A perfect way to end our day.

The Milford Oyster Festival is always held the third Saturday in August. Next year will be its 50th year! Come join in the fun!