The 23rd annual Pemaquid Oyster Festival returns to Mine Oyster Restaurant in downtown Boothbay Harbor on Sunday, Sept. 27 (11 a.m.-6 p.m.). The festival features freshly-shucked oysters from 10 Damariscotta River farms, live music, an oyster-shucking contest, a silent auction and an exhibition tent.

The Damariscotta River is often called "the Napa Valley of oysters," and its warm, nutrient-rich, clean, high-salinity waters produce some of the world's finest oysters. The Pemaquid Oyster Company will be joined by fellow Damariscotta River growers: Mook Sea Farm, Norumbega Oyster Inc., Dodge Cove Marine Farm, Glidden Point Oyster Farms, Blackstone Point Oysters, Pleasant Cove Oyster Farm, Heron Island Oyster Company, Great Salt Bay Oyster Co. and Carlisle Oyster Farm.The festival provides an opportunity to sample oysters from these Damariscotta River farms and meet and talk with the growers who cultivate them.

Festival entertainment begins at noon and brings a variety of music to two stages, including: the Hadacol Bouncers, a 6-piece traditional New Orleans-style jazz band; the Liz Lannon Blues Band, Liz fronts a quartet featuring veterans of the New England blues scene with her powerful vocals, the Old Blues Kats, Primo Cubano, Maine’s premier Cuban Son Band led by tres player, Paul D’Alessio; and the Oystermen, with Maine traditional maritime musicians and oyster farmers Carter Newell and Smokey McKeen.

The oyster-shucking contest is a crowd favorite- bringing together some of New England's leading oyster shuckers competing on time and quality for a $500 cash prize, including defending champions Chad Egeland from Scales Restaurant in Portland, Andy Rogers from Wiscasset’s Jolie Rodger’s Oyster Bar and Brendan Parsons from Damariscotta’s Shuck Station.

The exhibit tent will host local marine and educational organizations such as the Bigelow Lab, the Boothbay Sea and Science Center, Coastal Rivers, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Mook Sea Farm and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The tent will also showcase area artists and artisans who produce seafood products and oyster art.

The festival is also featuring a silent auction which is now live online and will conclude at the festival at 5 p.m. The auction features donated art work, paintings, prints, photos, wood and ceramics, as well as gift certificates to local inns, restaurants and Midcoast attractions.

On Saturday, Sept. 26 there will also be a six-course oyster dinner with wine pairings curated by award-winning chef Ralph C. Smith at Mine Oyster Restaurant and Sierra Fahrman, sommelier at Browne Trading Market in Portland, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and general admission and V.I.P. Festival tickets can be purchased at www.pemaquidoysterfestival.com.

The Pemaquid Oyster Festival is the primary fund-raiser for the Edward A. Myers Marine Conservation Fund. Ed Myers was a South Bristol resident, the first licensed shellfish-farmer in the state of Maine and a mentor to many of the river's early oyster growers. The fund has raised over $250,000 since its inception and has awarded grants to a dozen or more Lincoln County non-profit groups that work in the
marine conservation and education sectors.

For more information visit www.pemaquidoysterfestival.com, the festival's Instagram and Facebook pages, or call/text (207-571-2366).