Oyster Festival

October 18, 2009

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Profile America — Sunday, October 18th. This is National Seafood Month, and one of the highlight events is the 43rd annual St. Mary’s County Oyster Festival in Leonardtown, Maryland. By the time the event ends today, some 18,000 people are expected to have attended — treated to their Chesapeake Bay favorite served in every style from raw to oysters Rockefeller. In between plates, they’ll watch the national shucking championship and a hotly contested oyster cook-off among local chefs. During the two days, tens of thousands of oysters will be consumed. Each year, U.S. fishermen harvest 1.1 billion pounds of shellfish, including more than 27 million pounds of oysters. The biggest catch is crabs, at more than 322 million pounds, followed by shrimp. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 513
www.usoysterfest.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 854
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html