Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are being held in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, July 14
- Select Board and Finance Committee, 3 p.m.
- Local Housing Partnership, 4 p.m.
- Nauset Regional School District Capital Asset Subcommittee, 5 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m.
Friday, July 15
- Maurice’s Campground Working Group, noon
Monday, July 18
- Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 19:
- Select Board, 7 p.m.
Conversation Starter
OysterFest Moves to Baker’s Field
After missing two years during the pandemic, the OysterFest will return in person this October. The main events, however, will be held at Baker’s Field instead of on Main Street.
OysterFest 2022 will include the usual attractions: food vendors under a tent, beer gardens, arts exhibitions, and nonprofit booths, according to the application to use town property by Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting (SPAT), the nonprofit that organizes the festival. There will still be raw bars and a kids’ area. OysterFest’s “main stage” will have live music and activities including the traditional shuck-off, a competition where participants attempt to open 24 oysters as quickly and cleanly as possible.
The festival’s new domain will also cover the Mayo Beach parking lot and the town access road between the Bookstore & Restaurant and the tennis courts, according to SPAT’s application. On July 12, the select board amended that application to allow the festival organizers to raise the total number of volunteers, vendors, staff, security, and guests from 5,000 to 7,000. As a crowd-control measure, only people with tickets may enter the festival.
The vote was three to one, with select board member Kathleen Bacon voting against the increased capacity due to Covid and environmental concerns related to using a field that is a filled wetland prone to flooding. Board member Mike DeVasto, a shellfisherman who will participate in the festival, abstained.
Even the higher number is much less than the 10,000 to 15,000 who packed Main Street during what Police Chief Michael Hurley described on July 12 as the “crazy years” of OysterFest.
The festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct 15 and 16. Volunteers and SPAT staff will begin set-up on Wednesday, Oct. 12 and finish clean-up on Monday, October 17, the application stated. —Greta Magendantz
