Twenty-four times and they finally got it perfect! Oyster Festival 2007, the 24th, welcomed great crowds to the hamlet. The weather helped over the Oct. 13-14 weekend: The two days were bright and sunny and just cool enough - perfect for encouraging a good appetite for a food festival.

Judging from the crowd watching the 2007 Oyster Shucking and Oyster Eating Contests, this year was the biggest ever. In fact every corner of the fair was filled with festival-goers. At the oyster contest the visitors were truly focused on the contests - patiently awaiting as the preparations were made, introductions given, oysters attacked and all through the judging.

The contestants too - had things under control. Incumbents Dave Mahnken and Mike Chodkowski both used their oiled performances to ace their winnings.

David Mahnken of Long Beach made his seventh consecutive win with 27 oysters schucked. Michael Chodkowski downed 111 oysters for his ninth win. This year the oysters were big - last year Mr. Chodkowski ate 144 oysters. Mr. Chodkowski's personal best is 252 eaten, but that was in 1999 when the oysters were considered small in size. He has eaten: 252, 191, 120, 132, 168, 54, 156, 144, and this year 111 oysters.

There is a lot of skill that goes into winning the contests. Mr. Mahnken creates a great work area, arranging the oysters for easy grabbing and opening.

Oyster Shucking Contest emcee Bob Buchman, Q104's Morning Man, said the contestant coming the farthest this year was Shin L.W. Shenfarkas, originally from Taiwan and now living in Hicksville for the past seven years. She called herself a "housewife." It was her first time to take part in an Oyster Shucking contest. "I love oysters - I love oysters - they are beautiful food," she said. Before the contest began, Hank Tiska gave her pointers on how to open the hard-shelled mollusk with clamped shut shells. It's not an easy thing to do - she opened four oysters, teacher Tiska opened 11; Kono Yorihisa of Nippon TV opened 10 as did Frank Consolino of Farmingdale; Michael Callahan of Glen Cove opened 11; Mike Marano of Lake Ronkonkoma opened 21; and Ralph Alarcon of Bayville opened 24 to take second place again.

The contest is a smooth running machine. Mr. Buchman said it is unique in that it has two judges - Dave Relyea of Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. who counts the oysters shucked (intact and cut away from the shell) and Nassau County Judge Robert Schmidt who is the timekeeper. He and his wife Barbara are regulars at the events. She is one of the workers who assist the oyster eaters - handing them cups of oysters - to those who can slurp, chew, swallow - their first 36 from a tray of pre-shucked oysters, followed by blue plastic cups of a dozen in each.

Betty Tiska, who signed up the contestants, was positioned in front of last year's eating contest winner Mike Chodkowski. Each contestant has a helper, who kneels on the stage in front of them, and hands them the oysters. Ms. Tiska kept her eyes on Mike as he drank his way to the championship. As he downed his tray of 36 oysters she was already holding up the first blue plastic cup packed with another dozen. Before those were gone she was holding the next cup up high to ease it into his hands. They were a team. After the contest, Lisa Stapleton, another helper said, "We were fighting over him. I'll be fighting her for him next year." Everybody loves a winner!

This year Oyster Bay Town Councilman Tony Macagnone was a contestant. When asked how the eating contest went, Tony said, "It wasn't bad - it was tasty" and that was after eating 12 oysters.

Mike Chadkowski ate 111 oysters;

Joe Rizzuto of Rockville Centre ate 79 oysters;

Sal Denichilo of New Jersey ate 74 oysters and

Henry Lam of Flusing ate 74 oysters - in a tie.

Mark Famighetti of Mastic ate 69 oysters;

William Amzallag of Brooklyn ate 60 oysters;

Phi Tran of the Bronx ate 48 oysters;

Asel James of Bay Shore ate 36 oysters;

Marietta Munoz of Bayville ate 19 oysters;

Fred Thompson of Broadhollow ate 18 oysters.

At each part of the contest ended, the crew stepped up, setting up and stripping down the tables. After the eating contest was finished, the stage was cleared and Dave and Eileen Relyea sat in a golf cart loaded with the contest tables. The second-generation Relyeas walked behind it, steadying the load. For the rest of the fest they would be seen helping out at the Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. booth, selling T-shirts and hats to benefit the Celia Flower Food Pantry. You could say the Relyeas are at the very heart of the Oyster Festival.