In Oyster Bay, a massive turnout for Oyster Fest despite Saturday's chill

Call it Oyster Fest Chicago-style as winds whipped off Oyster Bay Harbor during the opening day of the 43rd annual event, which typically draws more than 150,000 people to Audrey Avenue and Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in the hamlet of Oyster Bay.

Despite temperatures dropping to 49 degrees, massive crowds came out and enjoyed their oysters chilled.

"They are delish! Very sweet and tender this year," said Thomas Kirk, 30, of West Hempstead, while he enjoyed a plate of oysters on the half shell. "I like them with cocktail sauce and horseradish plus a drizzle of fresh lemon. They are even fresher here than you would get at a restaurant."

Sam Guggenheimer, 38, who grew up in Glen Cove, came in from Alexandria, Virginia, to visit her mother Johanna Feigman, 67, of Glen Cove, this weekend. The two women were enjoying a pile of the bivalves.

"I would eat oysters all day and night," Guggenheimer said. "I always liked seafood. It was my favorite growing up."

The Oyster Fest, which is run by the Town of Oyster Bay together with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce, has its own food court just for seafood. Here oysters were served raw on the half shell, grilled, fried, Buffalo-style and in chowder.

Matt Lokshin, 22 of Bergen County, New Jersey, and Natalie MacArthur, 23, of Bayville, shared a special moment together as they both ate oysters for the first time.

"I can taste the ocean in them," Lokshin said. "It was different than I expected, but great."

MacArthur agreed, "They are really good, very fresh."

Oysters, and more

In addition to oysters, there were a wide array of other seafoods, such as lobster nachos, jumbo fried shrimp, fried clams, calamari, crawfish, peel-and-eat shrimp, among others.

Sonia Davidowitz, 30, of Plainview took on a giant stick of coconut shrimp while her friends Evan Riveles, 37, and Jackie Marullo, 39, of Plainview, tackled a crab cake and lobster quesadilla.

"It’s very good, but it’s enormous," Marullo said. "This is the biggest crab cake I’ve ever seen."

Riveles added, "I like the lightness of seafood. It doesn’t weigh you down."

Three tables away the Ericson family split a lobster bisque and lobster mac-n-cheese to warm up from the chilly weather.

"This soup is going to be a big seller today," Robert Ericson, 60, of Syosset said. "We typically never look for hot stuff and today we are looking for hot stuff."

Oyster art

Oysters were even used in art at the event. Over at the arts and crafts tent, Annie Travers' Nauti-Culled booth displayed her creations, which she calls "nautical decor culled straight from the shore."

"I’d go to the beach and find myself collecting shells," said Travers, of Rockville Centre. "I started making gifts for friends that had to move away from the water then it turned into a business."

Her top seller is a handmade sign whose letters are encased in an oyster shell.

"All the shells are boiled, bleached and sun-dried," she said. "I’m humbled by the response here. It’s been tremendous."

An entire other food court has a completely separate menu for those who are not seafood fans. Items being sold here include gyros, sausage & pepper heros, cheesesteaks, zeppoles, roasted corn, deep fried Oreos, bacon on a stick, grilled kielbasa, Boba tea, kettle corn, fried ice cream, pumpkin apple fritters, chicken tenders and various burgers.

Frank Novak, 34, of Mineola got a fist full of Mongolian beef, pork and chicken skewers

"I see them every year and I decided to get them for my wife," he said. "She doesn’t care for seafood."

Nicole Novak, 32, concurred. "I don’t like the fishy taste," she said.

Meanwhile Noah Zeidman, 22, of Plainview tore into a potato tornado, which is a spiraled fried potato on a stick.

"This has a Cajun flavor to it," Zeidman said. "It’s almost like Five Guys’ fries."

    Aw, shucks!

The oyster eating contest saw the return of a past champion. Each contestant was given 100 oysters to slurp down and Shawn Leonard, 67, of Cold Spring Harbor finished his tray in 3 minutes flat.

"They were a little salty this year," Leonard said. "I like eating them out of the shell better than using the plastic cups and pie pans. Otherwise, it’s like just drinking them."

This marked Leonard’s 8th win. Oyster eating runs in the family as his cousin David Leonard set the Oyster Fest record in 1998 consuming 480 oysters.

For the oyster shucking contest, each shucker was presented with 18 oysters. The first to shuck and display them in a presentable fashion, muscle cut and clean of any shell bits, won.

Last year’s champ Jose Valdez, 43, of Ozone Park, retained his title by finishing in 1 minute and 35 seconds.

"I used to work at Grand Central Oyster Bar but now I drive an Uber," he says. "However, I still got the speed in my hands."

The Oyster Fest continues Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.