Save the date for the South Coast’s own oyster 'Shuckella'

Taste the difference at next year’s Narooma Oyster Festival in May. Photo: Narooma Oyster Festival,

If you’re adding rock oysters to the menu this summer, it’s worth saving the date for the Narooma Oyster Festival on the weekend of May 3 and 4, 2024.

Tickets go on sale on 6 February, with visitors urged to book accommodation now to avoid missing out.

Narooma often fills quickly, but travellers can also consider stays at nearby towns including Moruya, Tilba and Batemans Bay with buses running to and from the festival on Saturday, 4 May.

For festival chair Cath Peachey, the rock oyster’s status as culinary, gastronomical and environmental hero is just one of the great reasons to throw Australia’s grandest oyster party each year, and this year will mark its 17th year.

”The festival is a favourite on the NSW food and drinks calendar and Oyster Farmers Alley is one of the main experiences people come for, its hero, the rock oyster, is quite unique to the South Coast and especially to NSW,” she said.

“In Oyster Farmer’s Alley, visitors get the chance to sample oysters from different estuaries and can talk directly with the grower about the uniqueness of their waterway and the flavours it offers.”

Along with the excitement of Australia’s Oyster Shucking Championships, or ‘Shuckella’, where farmers vie for the chance to represent the nation in Ireland at the World Oyster Opening Championships, the festival offers a range of culinary, educational and entertaining experiences for oyster and seafood lovers.

Oyster lovers can also try deeper water species like the lesser-known native angasi and the pacific, which features in Australia’s Biggest Oyster competition.

Other festival highlights include Ultimate Oyster Experience with seafood legend John Susman and the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (home of the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show), a cooking demonstration program with local and visiting chefs, Taste of the South dining experience, Rock Oyster Lounge, Champagne and Oyster Cruises, gourmet food, celebrated producers, brewers, winemakers and distillers along with markets and live music on two stages.

Stall holder applications open on 6 December, volunteers are welcome to apply now and more information is available on the Narooma Oyster Festival website.