Tom Reardon, co-chair of Oyster Festival 2006 said, "Overall, everything went very well. There was a great petting zoo with giraffes and camels. On Saturday morning a goat got away and was romping through the food court. Someone grabbed him and brought him back."

There was a rumor that there had been an explosion at the festival. That was easily answered by the cannons that were fired by the tall ships, he said.

Mr. Reardon said, "This year the setup went real smoothly as did the take down. There were the usual skinned knees but nothing spectacular. Traffic was a nightmare but unless we cover all of Oyster Bay with a parking lot we never will solve that problem, but people are still willing to come and brave the traffic.

"This year, again, a lot of people took the train. The Syosset LIRR parking lot was packed. There had been a sign on Route 106 telling people to take the LIRR to the festival - courtesy of NYS Senator Carl Marcellino. Taking the train is terrific. There is parking at all the municipal lots along the Oyster Bay line and by taking the train you don't have to walk - you're right there," he said.

This year the festival tried something new - seafood contests. They didn't work - people didn't chose to bring food to the festival - even with the hope of winning a prize. (They came to eat.) But Mr. Reardon said, "We might keep the contest next year or change it. The festival has always evolved so it will evolve again. If you are committed to it, you have to allow it a few years to build up."

Mr. Reardon wanted to thank the committee for doing a "yeoman's work." He added, "The festival would not run as smoothly without the help of the Town of Oyster Bay and the Nassau County Police. The Town of Oyster Bay was magnanimous in their willingness to cooperate." The fact that the festival is now in Theodore Roosevelt Park is because it was allowed by Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto. Before his tenure as supervisor the town had declined the use of the park because of the possible damage to the fields.

The crowds this year were great - as great as the weather. Some food booths sold out earlier than expected and others didn't. The Oyster Festival Committee will meet soon for their final wrap and Mr. Reardon said Food Court Chair Beverly Zembko will make a report then.

At the Oyster Festival, someone mentioned they preferred the Oyster Festival to be located in the hamlet's commercial area. Mr. Reardon said, "It's much too big to fit into town. It would be a logistical nightmare with things like the electric wiring and security. We have the area pretty much fenced off."

Still, he added, "they walked off with a dinosaur!"

Sometime on Saturday night, Oct. 14, a life-size dinosaur replica was stolen from a display near the waterfront during the Oyster Fest. Measuring over 8 feet long and weighing upwards of 200 lbs, the dinosaur was taken from a flatbed trailer used by the Center for Science Teaching and Learning (CSTL) to promote the Battle of the Dinosaurs Exhibit, an all new-robotic exhibit at the Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington, being done as a collaboration between CSTL and Nassau County Department of Parks and Recreation.

The WaterFront Center Executive Director Gaye Verdi said at first they were hopeful that they had found the dinosaur in the water near the pier. She said, "There were blips on the sonar at the Kalmar Nyckel and the Nassau County Police divers were checking out the water. "It was just a metal pipe," she said and added, it would have been hard to get the dinosaur up as high as the railing to toss it over.

"We just feel terrible for them, at their loss," she said.

"We have vandalism here periodically. If you add them all together they are significant - although each one is minor. We might have to step up our security. The Sagamore Rowing Association has security cameras but the one that might have caught something happening with the dinosaur, malfunctioned.

"We have noticed over time that someone has been on our launch or has pulled some tube out - miscellaneous acts of mischief. Last year there was a long spell of vandalism. Someone was releasing our animals: the specimens for classes are kept in a cage over the dock and the next day the box would be empty. I guess they thought it was 'funny' to open the latch and let the marine critters all out. They have been tampering with our equipment."

She added, "Last year the Nantucket had some windows broken. The man in charge said the lightship had endured all these storms and hurricanes without any damage and someome broke it with a crowbar. Maybe more than one person. They are double thick panes."

This year the security at the Oyster Festival was better than ever with both the Town of Oyster Bay security people and our own," said Tom Reardon. "I'm convinced that it's some kids - under the age or 23 or 24 who took it as a prank and after Halloween or before - it will turn up," he said.

The custom-made dinosaur depicts a deinonychus, one of the fearsome meat-eating predators on display at the Battle of the Dinosaurs. The replica belongs to the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Museums, and was on loan to CSTL to help promote the new dinosaur exhibit and to let people know the exhibit has been extended until Jan. 14, 2007.

The dinosaur trailer was used on Saturday by CSTL staff to get people's attention as they gave out dinosaur coloring books, talked to families, and even snapped a few photos of children posing with the dinosaur. Many of the children who were there on Saturday were disappointed when they returned on Sunday to see that the dinosaur was gone.

The missing dinosaur appears to have left a trail. Ms. Verdit said, "When I left Saturday night there was security at the entrance but there are places where people can get into the area." Residents of the area are familiar with several ways to get onto the Western Waterfront besides going through the main entrance at Larrabbee Avenue. There is a small entrance off Bay Avenue that residents asked for when the LIRR closed the crossing at the end of their street. Someone could also walk along West Shore Road or along the LIRR right of way, or along the shore of the bay to get into the beach area.

Fritz Coudert, WFC board president said at around 10:30 p.m. tall ship Royaliste owner Kathy Bergman was returning from the DEC building on the Western Waterfront and walking back to the pier, met two male teenagers, presumably high school age who were very polite and convinced her that they were legitimate. They had the dinosaur with them, possibly on a wagon taken from the WaterFront Center.

Joe Ferraro, CSTL community relations coordinator said they were still waiting to hear the fate of their dinosaur. He was not crediting any information received because there were too many stories coming to him.

Anyone who has information on the whereabouts of the dinosaur is encouraged to call the Nassau County Police Department. The museum is responsible for deciding on the punishment for the deed. Their actions depend on the condition of the dinosaur when (and if) it is returned. "Hopefully it will be returned in perfect condition," Mr. Ferraro said. "We don't know the whole story yet." We are being cautious. It's such a wonderful piece. It was made by an artist in 1990 in Sands Point. It is an accurate life size model. We hope someone has a change of heart and returns it. That is the best case scenario." Anyone with information concerning the larceny is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

Mr. Reardon said, "This year there was no party for the sponsors. Over the years the committee has found that people involved in the festival are too busy the days leading up to the festival to want to party. This year Bank of America, the festival's title sponsor had a VIP cocktail party on the pier for their guests."

There is a need for sponsors to fund the infrastructure of the festival. "There are lots of bills to pay. Everyone thinks all this money is wonderful but there are big bills to pay: transportation, electricity and the tents aren't free nor are the Porta-potties including the early Sunday morning big tank trucks come in and wash them down."

Mr. Reardon said the festival has grown over the years. He said, "It is our own program but it is a national event. It spotlights Oyster Bay. It's the biggest thing that happens in the Town of Oyster Bay and we hope we can continue with that relationship. The idea original of using TR Park was to put the festival next to the marina/boat basin. That would have been horrible for the cleanup so we found an alternate."

Oftentimes people bring their dogs to the festival. That happened again this year. Mr. Reardon said, "The Town of Oyster Bay kept the dogs out of the park this year. That's done for the safety of the children. Why anyone would like to bring their dogs to be stepped on, tripped on get possible cigarette burns and could be nibbling some little kids sandwich - who knows."

The Oyster Festival Charitable Foundation handles the funds generated by the festival. Mr. Reardon said, "We always get contacted by groups for funding, but most goes to Rotary causes but we give it out on a case by case basis - not just for Rotary causes. We do have to keep some seed money for the festival for next year but we try to give away a portion of the funds, as much as we can. Still, we have to prepare for the possibility of bad weather and a bad festival financially, and you don't want to be insolvent. Because we have a lot of bills, there must be enough seed money for next year's festival to pay the bills as we go along."

He said this year, "Cablevision was the bus sponsor. They did a wonderful job. We collect the sponsor's money and they get signage on the buses saying, 'Cablevison sponsored your ride!' The golf carts came from another sponsor, North Shore Golf Cart provides them free as a donation to the festival."

In the Oct. 16 issue of the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot, Kristen Reardon was incorrectly identified. She is the daughter-in-law of Tom Reardon and the wife of his son Andrew. Kristen has helped at several Oyster Festivals. This year, Mr. Reardon's daughter Emily Reardon helped with the committee work and helped the police in communicating with people who were not allowed to be out (selling) on Audrey Ave.