Ocean Isle Beach plays host to N.C. Oyster Festival

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - Ocean Isle Beach will play host to the 41st annual North Carolina Oyster Festival this weekend.

The festival will kick off with a free community event from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. The band, the Entertainers, will perform a concert at the event.

WECT will broadcast live from Ocean Isle Beach on Friday, Oct. 14, at noon, 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Musical acts are scheduled to begin performing at 9:30 a.m. Saturday until about 6 p.m. Live music will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday with the Embers closing out the event starting at 1:30 p.m. A list of the scheduled musical acts can be found here.

The oyster shucking contests will be held Saturday with the professional competitors starting at 11:30 a.m. and the amateurs at noon. The contests are free to enter. Sign-up forms can be found here.

The oyster eating contest begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the cost is $5 per bucket.

On Sunday, the oyster stew cook-off will begin at 1 p.m. The cost is $5 per ticket. Click here for more information.

Festival officials released the following information on parking for the festival:

• A free shuttle service will be provided from two designated lots near the Festival. The shuttles will run non-stop during festival hours. Please keep in mind that during the hours of 11 a.m.–2 p.m., we experience high traffic volume on the island. Please allow extra time as you may have a longer wait time to get onto a shuttle. Look for our amazing volunteer parking crew to direct you in our designated lots. Please note that parking in non-designated lots may cause your vehicle to be towed. All bus shuttles follow the same route — they are not assigned to a specific lot.
• Lot Locations & Bus Route: Free parking at Lowes Foods (7278 Beach Dr.) and Odell Williamson Municipal Airport (6080 Beach Dr.). The Ocean Isle Pier (1 W 1st St.) offers parking for a fee.
• Wheelchair Accessibility: There will be limited handicapped parking at 2 W. 3rd St. Look for event signage. A golf cart shuttle service will transport from there to the festival grounds. The NC Oyster Festival is navigable for wheelchairs.

For more information on the festival, click here.

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