Oyster Festival

I took this picture from the public landing about a week or so ago. It was so cold my hands were numb. I wanted to heat them up over a fire, a fire on which oysters are roasting....

This weekend is the Urbanna Oyster Festival. Urbanna is a quaint little town about 20 minutes from Mathews, and once a year people descend on it by the thousands to pay homage to a Chesapeake Bay delicacy otherwise known as The Oyster.

There are parades, food, bands, food, crafts, food and also this: an incredible amount of food.

I haven't been to the festival in about, oh, 15 years? Highlights from past Oyster Festivals include the following:

* A friend of mine, after the Friday night dance at the firehouse, got "lost" trying to make her way back to her car. (You have to park a million miles away and walk to the festival because they block off the streets. It's pretty hard to get lost in Urbanna, though, particularly if you've been there a hundred times. I have a feeling Friend sidled up to the beer keg one time too many. Just a hunch.)

* Another time, I ran into a guy I grew up with - he was my neighbor. I hadn't seen him in a long time so I gave him a hug, thought nothing of it and continued walking. The next thing I know a crazed woman was coming at me wide open and with fist raised. Instinctively I blocked her shot and she fell down on the ground. Evidently she had also sidled up to the beer keg one time too many and for some reason she thought I was after her husband, my former neighbor. I wasn't. I just hugged him, asked how he was doing and went along my merry way. They had to pull her away kicking and screaming. Those two are now divorced, and he's married to a nice girl who doesn't attack perfect strangers.

* Then there was the time in college that my roommate Icey and I decided we wanted to attend this huge outdoor party near the festival, but for some reason (where reason equals stupidity) we did not want to pay the cover charge. Now I know I was in college and everything, but there's no way that cover charge could possibly have been more than a few bucks; I'm sure we had the money. Never mind all that. We decided the best way to sneak in was by water, via the shoreline. I have to confess, I do not remember if we made it in or not, but I do recall a whole lot of stumbling and fumbling around in marsh grass, swamp and mud. I believe I also remember some man coming out and asking us what we were doing in his marsh. I have conveniently blocked any other facts or details out.

So you can see why I am eager to go back to the festival, with all these fond memories.

Actually, I do want to go back, and I probably will this weekend. There are three primary reasons why:

1. Oysters
2. Food
3. More Food.

Did I mention the food?