Aw Shucks; November Is Oyster Month In Virginia

‘Oyster Capitol of the East Coast’ Features Festivals & More

They used to say “Virginia is for lovers” but for the month of November you can add in an extra word to that popular phrase and make it “Virginia is for oyster lovers.”

A number of festivals at celebrations take place throughout the state. Thanks to its location by the Chesapeake Bay and numerous tributaries, Virginia boasts eight different and vastly distinct oyster regions that produce oysters from salty to sweet, to buttery and creamy.

This is why Virginia is known as the “Oyster Capitol of the East Coast.”

And while oysters and beer go well together in many parts of the South, here it’s wine, as the state has more than 300 wineries.

November is the primary month when all this is celebrated and the party begins the first weekend of the month with the The Urbanna Oyster Festival. This is Virginia’s signature oyster event and is also the country’s largest and longest-running oyster festival. Situated on the banks of the Rappahannock River, the Urbanna Oyster Festival includes oysters and seafood, music, bands, parades and an oyster shucking contest which draws visitors from around the world.

Other marquee Virginia oyster events include the Chincoteague Island Oyster Roast on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, The Merroir and Terroir Oyster Extravaganza and numerous events taking place at wineries and craft breweries around the Commonwealth.

There is even the Virginia Oyster Trail. With more than 100 participating sites, it has restaurants, artisans, farms, tours and historical sites throughout Coastal Virginia and Virginia’s River Realm. There are oyster tour companies, offering what it is like to harvest oysters first-hand by going out into the bay and rivers with a local waterman.

For more about Virginia oysters, trip ideas, and oyster festivals around the Commonwealth, go to www.virginia.org/oysters.

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