Virginia Living Museum’s 7th Annual Oyster Roast on Nov. 10 hosted 585 guests for all-you-can-eat local Virginia oysters, fried flounder, hushpuppies, steamed shrimp, assorted desserts and much more to raise $59,418 to benefit the Museum’s educational programs and animal care needs.
VLM Board President Jim Burnett tapped the exclusive Oyster Brown Ale brewed by St. George Brewing Company at the VIP hour preview. The Oyster Brown Ale was made with 100 fresh Rappahannock River oysters and salted caramel. All food at the event was made possible by Mathews Lions Club, Waypoint Seafood & Grill, Phillips Energy, Sam Rust Seafood and Stratford University Culinary students.
The VLM Oyster Roast is an official Virginia Green event. During the roast, there were eco-stations for recycling and disposable products were biodegradable and compostable. Over 21,000 oyster shells were collected by VCU Rice Rivers Center and volunteers. The oyster shells will be aged and placed in “seeding tanks.” After seeding, the spat (baby oysters) will attach to the shells. Each shell could contain 10–15 spat, which means approximately 315,000 oysters will be returned to the Chesapeake Bay.