Great sound bites abounded as Oyster Festival 2004 was announced on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the Western Waterfront Pier. The winning message was that Oyster Festival 2004 will attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records for oyster eating. That will mean a change in the way the oysters are prepared. For the previous contest, they were off-the- shell and served in plates and cups. This year the oysters will be presented on the half shell to conform to the rules of the Guinness Book of World Records. Len Rothberg, Oyster Festival manager said the Guinness record was set in 2001 when John Wright ate 92 oysters on the half shell in three minutes. FULL STORY

The 21st Annual Oyster Bay Oyster Festival committee is actively seeking past oyster eating contest winners and extreme eaters to participate in this year's Guinness Book of World Records attempt to be held at the Oyster Festival this October on the weekend of the 16th and 17th. FULL STORY

It was the biggest and best Swim-A-Cross in the 15 year history of the event. They set a record with 183 swimmers taking part on Friday, Aug. 20. Since 2002, people have dedicated their swim to heroes. In 2002 and 2003 those being honored were the emergency workers and citizens who lost their lives in the collapse of the World Trade Center. This year, the field was expanded to a person in the swimmer's life who has greatly impacted their life, as a hero often does: a teacher, police officer, firefighter, US Service member, parent, family member, community leader, etc. FULL STORY

During May and June the OBEN PAL Karate program trained intensely for the "Junior Challenge" martial arts tournament. All different schools participated in the tournament in Smithtown on July 18. The students ranging from ages 4 to 18, competed in point sparring, forms, self-defense, and round house kicks on a target. The girls' divisions were especially large with 12-15 competitors for each division and belt level. FULL STORY