On behalf of the Wareham Village Association Board of Directors, I would like to thank the many people and organizations that came together to make the first annual Wareham Oyster Festival such a resounding success.

First, the key volunteers whose tireless work brought the events together:  friends Jim and Mary Bruce, Tom and Nora Bicki, Kim Houdlette; and Board members, especially Tracy McGraw, Linda Burke, Rose Berry, Traci Medeiros, and Pam Kiernan.

We thank WVA Director Kristine Hastreiter of Gourmet and Gourmand for the spectacular desserts included at the Gala, and friend Richard C. Wheeler for the beautiful medals that went to the 5K participants.

We thank Buzzards Bay Brewing and Westport Rivers Vineyard for their support and generous donations.

Thank you to our oyster farmers, and notably Mike Besse of Indian Cove Aquaculture, Bob Tourigny and Dennis Pittsley, Bryant Brothers of Marion, and Aaron Brochu of Big Rock Oyster Co. and Seth Garfield of Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms.

We couldn’t have done this without our major sponsors: Morse Lumber, Ella's Woodburning Oven Restaurant, Southcoast, Chatham Village Foods, Lindsey’s Inc., Elements/J.C. Engineering, A.D. Makepeace Company, Gateway Tavern, Gourmet and Gourmand, BB’s Restaurant, Cape Cod 5 Cents Savings Bank, Edible South Shore, and Minerva’s Pizza.

We thank the 17 restaurants that participated in the Oyster Trail: BB’s Restaurant, Café Soleil, Ella's Woodburning Oven Restaurant, Lindsey’s, Kool Kone, Narrows Crossing Restaurant, Vel's Restaurant, Stonebridge Bar and Grill, Bailey’s Surf ‘N Turf, Quahog Republic, Minerva’s Pizza, Gateway Tavern, Riverside Café, Gourmet and Gourmand, Barnacle Bill’s, Lobster Pot, and especially Capt'n Al's, whose chef created multiple unique oyster dishes.

We thank the gracious hosts of the Speakers’ Series – Leanne Hunt of Café Soleil, Cheri Lindsey of Lindsey’s, Kenny Fontes of the Wareham Boys and Girls Club, and Marc and Bree Swierkowski of Ella’s Woodburning Oven Restaurant, and Southcoast Health – and the speakers: author Karen Covey, Andrew Jay of the Massachusetts Oyster Project, Curt Felix of the Wellfleet Waste Water Treatment Planning Committee, and the Southcoast dietetic interns. We are especially grateful to the Wareham Land Trust, which partnered with us to help promote our informational programs.

We thank all those who came together to make the Gala an outstanding event, including the Bourne-Wareham Art Guild and prize-winning Wareham Garden Club, whose artistry brought new life and beauty to the former Tobey Memorial Library, loaned to us for the night by local attorney Tim Ciaffoni.  Thanks to Cuttyhunk Shellfish, author Paula Marcoux, the Quahog Republic, Bailey’s Surf and Turf, and Lindsey’s for adding to our menu.

Thank you to our media sponsor Edible South Shore and South Coast magazine, and to Joanna McQuillan Weeks for her great article about the event.

We thank the Wareham Fire Department for all sorts of assistance they provided, and the Wareham Police Department and Municipal Maintenance Department for helping to make Wareham Village shine, and Building Commissioner Bob Iafrate and Health Agent Bob Ethier for their professionalism and support.

Most of all, we thank the thousands of people who enjoyed the various events over the course of the week: the 150 runners, the 120-plus Speakers’ Series attendees, the 3,000 festival-goers, the 100 Gala attendees, the 42 festival vendors, and the diners who ordered oysters at our local restaurants during the week.  We have a survey on our website, at warehamvillage.org, for anyone to share their thoughts about the festival and view photos from this year's event.

I know that some, including our Board of Selectmen, were skeptical about the first annual Wareham Oyster Festival, but I can’t tell you how many businesses and participants have said they are already planning for the Second Annual Wareham Oyster Festival.

Bob Brady, President
Wareham Village Association