68^th Annual Oyster Eat - Georgetown Fire Company

Sunday, May 17, 2015

On Friday night the Georgetown Fire held its 68th annual Oyster Eat. The event attracted over 1000 men for the purpose of eating oysters, drinking beer, and socializing. The company prepared for the event with 90 bushels of oysters, 200 pounds of ham, 50 cases of sodas, 50 pounds of popcorn, 350 T-shirts, 260 dozen eggs, and 40 kegs of beer. The event was setup over the past month by chairman of the Oyster Eat Michael Briggs and is estimated to bring in about $10,000 to $12,000. Hours before the doors opened guest were standing in a line that stretched two blocks down West Pine Street. The Bluegrass Band performed music during the evening. The traditional event is the company?s largest fundraiser. The Oyster Eat is considered a unique Sussex event and has been listed in the Library of Congress Local Legacy program. More recent traditions for the Oyster Eat have been the sale of t-shirts, singing of the bluegrass band, and the auctioning of a homemade oyster knife. This year the t-shirts were designed by Fire Commissioner Bob Ricker with a patriotic theme to honor those who are serving our country and those who served our country in World War II. The event was not held in 1942 and 1943 because of the war efforts of World War II and has grown steadily since.