Tuesday will be a big day in Oyster Bay. It is the opening press conference for Oyster Festival 2007 and the annual Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club summer outing at the home of Marge and Fritz Coudert. It will be a busy day.

We are looking forward to both events.

Both are unique to Oyster Bay.

The Oyster Festival brings visitors to town from all over. It showcases this very special hamlet and town. The Kips Bay outing brings children from the Bronx Boys and Girls Club (as well as members of the local Oyster Bay Boys and Girls Club) to enjoy a very personal look at living on the Gold Coast of Long Island.

One year when we asked Clint Smith what was so special about the Kips Bay event, he said, there are many wealthy people who live on the harbor, but there is only one family that opens their homes to kids each year. That is the Couderts. That is something very special.

Our thanks to the Couderts who give young people a wonderful day in the sun to bank in their memory books. They also are involved with the WaterFront Center and so are a big part of the Oyster Festival - so you could say we are having a Coudert Day. That is a pretty nice way to spend a Tuesday.

In next week's newspaper, you will share in that adventure!

- DFK