![Narooma Oyster Festival runs from Friday, May 5, to midday Sunday, May 7, at Quota Park on Wagonga Inlet. There will also be music and activities at Club Narooma. Picture supplied. Narooma Oyster Festival runs from Friday, May 5, to midday Sunday, May 7, at Quota Park on Wagonga Inlet. There will also be music and activities at Club Narooma. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/d9669d4a-397f-4e06-b2c0-3b7a23d27a56.jpg/r0_73_1957_1161_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
This year's Narooma Oyster Festival is set to be even better than last year's record-breaker.
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Crowd favourites like cooking demonstrations, Oyster Alley, Australia's Biggest Oyster, shucking competition and the South Coast's best fireworks will be joined by a new array of luxe experiences, a River of Art digital light show, a Yuin Nations' cultural precinct and Hangtown Fry breakfast on Sunday.
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![Australia's Biggest Oyster is great family fun. Last year Clyde River oyster farmer Bernie Connell brought one of his 'pets' in a pram. Picture supplied. Australia's Biggest Oyster is great family fun. Last year Clyde River oyster farmer Bernie Connell brought one of his 'pets' in a pram. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/04be0bb5-9cab-44de-8769-3266224e3e52.jpg/r0_191_2048_1342_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Star-studded chefs
Local chefs in Saturday's cooking demonstrations include Bermagui Beach Hotel's Khan Danis and Dominic Mannel.
Mr Danis' career includes being Neil Perry's right-hand man at Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, plus many openings including Merivale's Totti's Bondi.
Mr Mannel has cooked at some of London's top restaurants and will be assisting Mr Danis at the demonstration.
From Sydney are Hussein Sarhan, head chef at two-hatted Fred's and Corey Costelloe, executive chef at Rockpool Bar and Grill.
Top-billing is New Zealand chef, author and fishmonger Martin Bosley (Bos), fresh from judging oysters at April's Sydney Royal Aquaculture Show.
![Like last year, there will be plenty of females vying for the chance to represent Australia at the world oyster shucking championships in the Irish city of Galway in September. The competition is Narooma's equivalent of the Melbourne Cup. Picture by David Rogers Photography Like last year, there will be plenty of females vying for the chance to represent Australia at the world oyster shucking championships in the Irish city of Galway in September. The competition is Narooma's equivalent of the Melbourne Cup. Picture by David Rogers Photography](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/a1b0b3f9-d15c-45cb-97ce-9c48f179fef7.jpg/r0_0_5464_6830_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Shucking competition, live music
Bos will also judge Saturday's oyster shucking competition where, in a festival-first, one of the shuckers vying to represent Australia in the world championships in Galway, Ireland, is from interstate.
Zoe Jacobson surprised a few men when she won the Tasmanian Oyster shucking competition in February.
Live music includes Benji and the Saltwater Sound System and blues-roots act Owen Campbell & the Cosmic People.
As part of the new Yuin Baan to showcase Yuin culture, Nowra's South Coast Yuin Choir and the local Djinama Yilaga Choir will perform.
The cultural precinct will also feature bush tucker, arts and crafts, dance and perhaps an area for story-telling and yarning
That will be complemented by a cocktail-style Yuin Native Food Exploration on Friday evening.
![Narooma Rocks chair Cath Peachey said people have an epiphany when they realise that not all oysters taste the same. They are influenced by the oyster's husbandry and their marine environment. Picture supplied. Narooma Rocks chair Cath Peachey said people have an epiphany when they realise that not all oysters taste the same. They are influenced by the oyster's husbandry and their marine environment. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/180157781/0fb7e17a-d8e9-440e-8a6e-6e9e204296c1.jpg/r0_191_2048_1342_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Inclusive, accessible, regional
The festival includes a family area, kids' zone with entertainment and activities, expanded disabled parking and a quiet marquee for those with neuro-diverse conditions.
A free shuttle bus will run around Narooma and ticketed coaches from Batemans Bay and Bermagui will ensure easy festival access for people staying further afield.
With oyster farmers coming from up and down the South Coast and a strong regional representation from the Yuin community, Narooma Rocks chair Cath Peachey, said "it is a regional event, not just a Narooma event".
As most of the luxe experiences have sold out, she encouraged people to pre-purchase festival tickets to avoid disappointment.
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