RICHMOND, Va. -- It’s oyster season and nothing celebrates Virginia Oysters like the Virginia Oyster Shell Recycling Program (VOSRP) and its Shellraiser’s Shindig. The event is like no other — it brings together all eight Virginia Oyster regions giving the attendee the chance to taste the Bay, literally side by side.
VOSRP recycles over 125,000 pounds of waste shell that is age-cured at the VCU Rice Rivers Center then seeded with baby oysters. They are then returned to the Chesapeake Bay (on reef restoration projects in the Piankatank River and Rappahannock River). In 2018, the program returned over 7 million shells back to the bay.
The event, October 21, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m., at Libbie Mill includes:
Chefs:
Walter Bundy, Shagbark
Carlisle Bannister, Upper Shirley Vineyard
Lee Gregory, Alewife, Roosevelt and Southbound
Andrew Manning, Longoven
Caleb Shriver, Dutch and Company
Patrick Willis, Lemaire at the Jefferson Hotel
Jesse Wykle, Aloha Snacks VB
Keith Roberts, VA Ham Tasting Station from Edwards Virginia Smokehouse
Oysters:
Region 1: Shooting Point Oyster Co Salts
Region 2: Shooting Point Oyster Co Bulls Eyes
Region 3: Ruby Salts Oyster Co
Region 4: Windmill Point Oyster Co Skip Jacks
Region 5: J&W Seafood Co
Region 6: Big Island Aquaculture/Vogt Oyster Co
Region 8: Tangier Island Oyster Co
Beverages:
VA wine: Williamsburg Winery, Early Mountain Vineyards, White Hall, Stinson Ridge, Ankida Ridge, and Ox Eye
VA beer: The Veil Brewing, Fair Winds and Alewerks
VA Cider: Courthouse Creek Cidery.
VA spirit: Virago Spirits
