There are always wonderful stories to tell about the Oyster Festival. This year was no exception as sponsors chatted, at the opening event, the sponsor's reception held Thursday evening, Oct. 16 on the Tall Ships Pier.

This year the fireworks that filled the sky on opening night, Oct. 17, were sponsored by Alex Gallego, of Ryan Beck & Co., along with John F. DeLillo, CPA. Mr. Gallego, an East Norwich resident said his firm was happy to support the Oyster Festival. "We want to support the Oyster Festival and the Oyster Bay area itself." Mr. Gallego has lived locally for the past two years. His firm is planning on opening an office in Oyster Bay in about nine months. "We are looking at the yellow house," he said. He shared his vision of living in the Oyster Bay area saying, "Remember the movie It's a Wonderful Life? That's the way I see my future, raising my children in the community and working here. It's all about making it a better community," he said.

John DeLillo has worked in Oyster Bay for 15 years. His office is presently at 229 South Street, but he fondly remembered Herb Machol of Machol Media Services, and his wife Myralee with whom he shared an office on the top floor of the Oceanic House on West Main Street. Mr. DeLillo, wanted to give credit to Mr. Machol for making the festival what it is today.

"Herb and I were neighbors in Syosset. He brought the bike race to the Oyster Festival, which turned the festival into the event it now is," he said. "Herb brought Olympic Skating Champion Eric Hyden, here, and that was the beginning." Mr. Hyden used bike racing as an alternate sport in the summer, to keep his legs in condition for winter racing sport. The Oyster Festival Cycling Classic was sponsored for several years by 7-Eleven. They offered sizeable prizes for the race, which attracted world class cyclists.

"I give him credit for making the festival what it is today," he said. Mr. DeLillo said he was a new Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce member. The chamber was the original sponsor of the festival.

Tom Schwind too, remembered the first Oyster Festival. "I worked with Tom Reardon on the first Oyster Festival," he said. Mr. Schwind is the CEO of Harry Whaley & Sons, the electricians who do the electrical work that makes the Oyster Festival run.

He was a partner of Mr. Whaley's in 1987, and bought him out in 2001. "Mr. Whaley still works with me. We're keeping him busy. He's one of the best men you can ever talk to about old Oyster Bay. He knows everything about the town. The firm has been here since 1924."

"The Oyster Festival is a great community event. I've done it with Mr. Reardon since the first one. We love to help him out. He's a very good guy," said Mr. Schwind, whose wife works in the business, as does Mr. Whaley's son-in-law, Bruce Peterson, who is married to Suzanne Whaley. Mr. Peterson is a former Oyster Bay-East Norwich art teacher.

Eileen and Dave Relyea (co-owners of Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. along with Joe Zahtila and Dwight Relyea) were at the reception along with Dorothy Simons, who is in charge of their Oyster Festival booth. Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc., founding sponsor of the Oyster Festival, sells T-shirts at the festival to benefit the Celia Flower Pantry, a food bank run out of the Youth & Family Counseling Agency of Oyster Bay-East Norwich. The pantry was begun by Butler Flower in memory of his wife Celia: "so that no one in Oyster Bay would go to bed hungry."

It is the sponsors that make the festival possible, explained Debra Goyena, president of the Oyster Bay Rotary Club, the event presenter. She said the reception was to thank the sponsors. "Without their help the not-for-profits could not take part in the event." The sponsor funding pays for much of the infrastructure of the festival such as the shuttle buses.

Maria Entenmann, vice president and manager of Fleet Bank, one of the festival sponsors said, "I'm so happy it's here at the waterfront and that we're going to have good weather. I think the non-profits are going to make a lot of money to put back into the community!" Len Rothberg, festival promoter said, "Shh. Don't say that. We don't want to jinx the weather." Everything worked out well, in spite of the weather. Friday night was rainy but the fireworks show went on. Oyster Bay Town Clerk Martha Offerman said she saw the flashing lights on Friday night across the bay, from her house on the water in Bayville,

Saturday was a beautiful day and the crowds were great. "Sunday, the weather was horrible but the crowds were phenomenal, in spite of the fact that it was raining Sunday morning," said Ms. Goyena, after the festival. She pointed to her boots that were damp to the ankle. "I've been here since 9 a.m.," she said.

Ms. Goyena said when the Rotary first took over the running of the Oyster Festival three years ago, they thought the waterfront would be a natural location for the event. This year, she said, "We (the state and town) spent so much money to beautify the waterfront this is a perfect time to show how beautiful our community is. The waterfront area is why we all live here, it is what our community is all about."

Fritz Coudert, president of the WaterFront Center was also pleased with the new location. He said, previously, people were trapped in the varying locations of the Oyster Festival and didn't get to see the whole scope of the event. Now with the festival centered on the waterfront they will have the food booths, the entertainment, the arts and crafts, all in sight of the tall ships. "Now everything starts out visible. It's a natural. Consolidating the festival was a no-brainer," he said.

Ms. Goyena also thanked the Oyster Festival Committee members saying, "The festival is one weekend of the year, but the committee will hold its first meeting for Oyster Festival 2004 on Nov. 6, after the festival. They will meet once a month after that and as the year goes on they meet once a week." She asked for applause for the Oyster Festival committee and their commitment to the festival. "They deserve a handshake," she said.