I must be honest. I have never taken kindly to the taste and texture of oysters nor the tedious task of shucking. However, Sunday at the 26th Annual Lowcountry Oysterfest — with a fist full of tickets, several Bud Light’s deep, amidst throngs of Lowcountry locals lounging on blankets and under tents, tossing footballs, and jamming with the band — I strode up to one of the lopsided, shell-ravaged counters and bought my first bucket. I have been missing out on the greatest party food of all time! I devoured many, prying open my own shells, then coating them with hot sauce and crackers. Spending the day outside at gorgeous Boone Hall Plantation, sharing snacks from a tin bucket and lazily watching a competitive game of cornhole, drink in hand, was the perfect Charleston Sunday. It was everything about living here we all love: good music, good seafood, good people (and beer). The turn-out was impressive and even grey skies and the slight chance of rain didn’t damper the festival’s vibe, which, (it is worth noting) is essentially tailgate-like, with the football replaced by music. And as we finally packed up our blankets and chairs and made our way across a lawn scattered with silver buckets and heaps of oyster shells, I was a fully converted, oyster-appreciatin’ girl. So that’s what all the fuss is about. —Gervase Caycedo
Video by Ryan Brown, edited by Kyle Hilliard.
26th Annual Lowcountry Oysterfest from Charleston City Paper on Vimeo.
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