Lets Sail Away: Urbanna Oyster Festival

This is certainly a part of the country that likes to celebrate!
Early in November the town of Urbanna, about half an hour west of here, holds an oyster festival, which is now in it's 51st year.

The first day of this two-day event was chilly and rainy and we decided to give it a miss. The last day didn't start out any better but We voted to go. The rain stopped and the skies cleared as soon as we arrived in town. It was the first time we had been to Urbanna. It is a lovely little place with a sheltered harbour. It was established in the early years of the new colonies as one of the centers for shipping goods and tobacco back to Europe. The roads were closed off for the Festival and were thronged with people out to enjoy the day.

One of several live bands

The highlight of the day was the parade. There were marching high school bands, drum and pipe bands, old and ancient cars, majorettes, gymnasts, the irrepressable Shriners, the Oyster Shucking Queen (!!) and much more. The stalls had all sorts of foodstuffs and there were tons of them. I finally got to taste a roast oyster and I think I could get used to them! There was a cute dog act, that had all the kids openmouthed, and some great bands. It was a fun day.
We didn't have our camera with us, so all these great photos are courtesy of our friends on New Life.