Welcome to the 22nd Annual Oyster Festival the weekend of Oct. 15 and 16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, along Audrey Avenue, Spring Street and at the town's Theodore Roosevelt Waterfront Park. Oyster Festival 2005 is destined to offer something for everyone.

The organizers of the Festival, the Oyster Bay Charitable Fund, are responsible for managing the event which has been named one of the largest waterfront festivals on the east coast. "Each year we revitalize and update the entertainment, food, crafts and overall guest experience" explained Tom Reardon, co-chairperson of the event.

For many festival-goers, it's a combination of things that add up to the Oyster Festival which keeps them coming back year after year. It's the clam chowder and sweet potato fries in the Food Court to go with oysters on the half-shell; the amusement rides and the craftsmen and the stately Tall Ships docked at the harbor.

The Oyster Festival stands out in the way it combines the traditional and the unusual. Over 100 vendors set up shop offering products not available at the mall, many of them handcrafted and alluring to holiday gift-shoppers. Over 100 craftsmen from all over the United States will be on hand under arts & crafts tents to display their wares for discerning local shoppers. A sampling of items offered by the artisans include: all categories of artwork, candles, cartoons, clothing, floral, folk art, glassware, jewelry, leather, painting, photography, pottery, quilting, stained glass and woodwork.

And sometimes the familiar returns in new garb. This year the ever-popular Tall Ships return in pre-Halloween attire, ready to blend in with the funny-scary pirate's intent on wreaking good-natured havoc on guests. Also new this year is master wood carver Fred Steffen, who turns tree limbs into furniture and almost anything else you can suggest, along with an exotic petting zoo.

This year Festival goers can follow Audrey Avenue filled with shops, antique vendors and classic cars, provided by the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce, as they make their way to the bustling events at Theodore Roosevelt Park at the Waterfront. Stroll among the stilt-walkers, caricaturists at work, balloon sculpture specialists and more. Find historical costumed "ambassadors" ready to answer questions about the festival or provide historical information about the village, thanks to the Main Street Association.