Three stages of live entertainment, food by 20 non-profit groups, three tall ships, 128 arts and craft vendors, and two great contests make up the Oyster Festival: and you and your family are invited to attend. There is no admission fee for this event sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oyster Bay.

For two days, the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 13 and Sunday, Oct. 14, civic and non-profit groups will be lining the streets of Oyster Bay hamlet, offering great foods for you to enjoy: oysters on the half shell, fried oysters and oyster stew and chowder as well as hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, clams, steak sandwiches, roasted corn, souvlaki, kebobs of all kinds, apple pie a la mode, funnel cakes and more.

There is a greatly expanded children's entertainment area in Firemen's Field. There will be virtually continuous music at one site or another throughout the festival. Seventeen different musical groups, catering to every conceivable taste in music, will play at either the tent on Audrey Avenue, on a stage in the Food Court, or at the Showmobile in Roosevelt Park.

This year the waterfront will feature Oyster Bay's own Christeen, a restored 19th century oyster sloop; the tall ship bark Europa, a three-masted clipper with 11,000 square foot of sail. Visit below decks and see a classic, romantic interior lounge, bar and saloon. All cabins have their own shower and toilet; modern necessities for safety and comfort are hidden by the historic appearance. Another tall ship, the Phoenix, will be dockside during the festival for on-site exploration. Thanks to a grant from the NYS Council for the Humanities, an exhibit of other historic sailing ships will grace the waterfront. Full-size replicas of an 18th century sailing skiff and a Revolutionary War era whaleboat, staffed by sailors in period attire, will be on hand for educational purposes. Additionally, the tall ship sloop Providence will offer a harbor sail on both Saturday and Sunday from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 14 years and under: available dockside one half hour before the sail; to make credit card purchase reservations, please call (401) 274-7447. Sails are limited to 40 passengers. The Providence will be open for dockside tours each day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also expect about 30 to 40 antique boats to tie up at the pier.

There are festival T-shirts to buy, and a car raffle to win: a 2002 Chevy Trailblazer, a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500, or a 2001 BMW 325I, or the winner may choose instead a cash prize of $20,000. Only 3,000 tickets at $20 each, are printed.

Oyster Fest 2001 thanks its generous sponsors: the NY Islanders, the North Shore University Hospital at Syosset, State Bank, Fleet Bank, Fritz Coudert for The Marine Center, American Land Services, Anton Community Newspapers, Discovery Credit Card, Hoffman Chiropractic, David Relyea, LIPA, NYS Lottery, Voice Stream, Specce Agency and State Farm.

Come by LIRR using the Oyster Bay line out of Mineola, straight into the heart of the festival or the Syosset station where buses will bring you to the Theodore Roosevelt Park area where the oyster eating and shucking contests will take place. It is also where a Revoultuionary War encampment will be located, proving that history is the business of Oyster Bay!