A new festival is poised to make it debut at historic waterfront estate Stanley Park, near Fullerton Cove.
It's called the Seafood & Cider Festival and it's being held over two days on September 10 and 11.
Festivalgoers can expect a range of freshly caught seafood, wine, cider, live entertainment, oyster shucking and prawn peeling competitions, market stalls, entertainment for the kids and more. There will also be a series of Deep Dive masterclasses covering topics like oyster shucking; how to fillet a fish; seafood and wine pairings; crab cleaning; and cider brewing.
"We want this event to bring new life to the industry and create a wave of excitement among local businesses and suppliers that events are back up and running, bigger and better than ever," Hunter Events Group director Louise Manning said.
"My attitude is that if we don't do it, and nobody does it, the world is not going to return to normal.
"At the moment there are no COVID restrictions and even though there have been a lot of weather events - we recently had to postpone our Bar & BBQ Festival due to flooding - it's a matter of us continuing on and trying to make something amazing for our community to enjoy."
Dawson's Oysters and Fisherman's Wharf Seafood are the official event partners.
Dawson's Oyster Supplies was established back in 1964 by Malcolm Dawson and his family, and they opened a retail shop on King Street in Warners Bay in 1980. It's still going strong under new owners Hannah Woods, her mum Louise Murphy and long-time family friend Thelma Williams, who took over in May 2021.
Brothers Brett and Grant Dawson continue to do the shucking (at the back of the shop) and because the oysters are opened daily, customers can be assured they are fresh.
"We will be creating our own little oyster bar at this event where attendees will be able to purchase our freshly shucked Sydney Rock Oysters with a range of our homemade accompaniments," Woods said.
"We'll also be selling our merchandise and oysters to take home on the day.
"We are running the oyster shucking competition on the Saturday. Brett Dawson is one of the only Australians to have won the Oyster Opening World Championship (Galway Bay, Ireland 1981 and 1982 and runner-up 1991) and he will be judging the competition."
The oyster industry has been hit hard of late, with floods and QX disease affecting supply. Factor in COVID-19 and it's been a tough few years.
"We purchase oysters directly from oyster farmers in Port Stephens, and then we process (or shuck) them. When the oyster farmers struggle, we do too as we can't get the supply that we need," Woods explained.
"This year alone, back-to-back rain events have had a large impact and have caused considerable damage to local stocks. On top of that, the QX disease has raged through what was left of the local industry, causing devastating oyster mortality. It's been very hard for a lot of growers.
"A handful of our growers out of Port Stephens have decided to retire due to the ongoing stress; others are restocking with Pacific oysters from Tasmania and hope that these will thrive like they have in the area previously.
"Like other processors, we are currently sourcing oysters from the South Coast of NSW while we wait for Port Stephens to get back on its feet. This naturally puts a lot of pressure on those areas down south (Clyde River, Merimbula, Pambula, Wonboyn), creating supply issues, however it's just something that we have to navigate at the moment on week-to-week basis."
Wine Selectors, Unexpected Guest Gin Distillery, The Karuah Oyster Bar, Pokolbin Cider House, Cedar Creek Cider, Vamonos Paella and Horner Wines are also on the festival line-up.
If you're not a seafood fan, never fear. Manning says the aim is "to make sure we are satisfying every need and every palate". And choosing cider rather than, say, semillon was deliberate. It's a point of difference in a seafood and white wine world.
"Seafood and cider is a nice pairing. Certain ciders and certain seafoods. Cider is becoming a very popular beverage of choice," Manning said.
Added Woods: "As a cider lover myself, I can confirm that the crisp and bubbly characteristics of cider are a perfect pairing for seafood and of course oysters at this time of year."
Seafood & Cider Festival, September 10 and 11, 10am to 4pm, Stanley Park, Fullerton Cove. Details and tickets at seafoodandciderfestival.com.au
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