ShuckFest returns this summer with a competition, tasting and activities in 2024

Tickets go on sale this week for Oyster House’s largest and most flavorful summer event—ShuckFest. In 2024, the seafood-focused festival will take place on Sunday, June 2, and will be held at the city’s popular seasonal destination, Liberty Point (211 S Christopher Columbus Blvd.) 

The festival and shucking competition will be in full swing from noon to 3:30 p.m. on that date at the venue, which is located at the Independence Seaport Museum on Penn’s Landing, overlooking the Delaware River.

As the release notes, ShuckFest is Philadelphia’s largest oyster festival featuring the area’s best regional oysters and farms all gathered to celebrate the local industry. Entry to the event includes a meet-and-greet, tastings from 12 local New Jersey-based oyster growers, oyster shucking tutorials from experts, a craft table for children to create personalized jewelry from oyster shells, live music throughout the event from Gypsy Wisdom, and the event’s culminating oyster shucking competition. 

The competition itself will highlight a dozen local faces in the seafood industry all competing for a cash prize. Participants will be judged by a panel on their speed and accuracy while shucking, and penalties will be given out for presentation fouls such as broken shells, cut oysters, or not fully detaching the oysters from their shells, the release also notes.

Judges include Binh Nguyen of Visit Philly, Margaret Eby of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Chef Eli Kulp of the Delicious City Philly Podcast. 

“We expanded ShuckFest last year to make it a huge Sunday event at one of the biggest venues in Philadelphia, and we’re excited to make it even better this year,” said Oyster House owner Sam Mink in a statement.

“We’ve tapped three amazing people who promote and cover the city’s incredible restaurant scene to judge the competition, and we’re looking forward to another incredible event with some new and returning oyster farmers from New Jersey, and with our partners at Liberty Point.”

While there, Philadelphians can purchase additional food and drinks from Liberty Point. Food-wise, highlights include the tuna tartar (poke style), garlic butter soft pretzel nuggets, fried shrimp roll, Baja fish tacos, bacon-wrapped shrimp, whipped ricotta, and much more. Drink-wise, Philadelphians can pair their fare with an extensive selection of craft beers, draught cocktails, specialty cocktails, and draught shooters. 

Tickets for ShuckFest cost $80 apiece, and go live on April 24, at noon on Oyster House’s website (oysterhousephilly.com), attendees must purchase tickets in advance, and children under 15 who accompany adults can enter for free. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit two local environmental nonprofits: Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Inc. and The Jetty Rock Foundation. The event will take place rain or shine.