When Karen DeVine-Minicozzi was asked to become the chairperson of the 1998 Oyster Festival, her first impulse was to say no. Then she considered the positive effect it has on the community, she wrote letters to the editor of both newspapers to say that she would take on the chairmanship.

Now, with the planning behind her, and just the last minute problems to solve, she said, "We're getting there. I have a good feeling about it." The festival runs Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting on West Main Street, from South Street almost to Maxwell and down to the waterfront at the Oyster Bay Marine Center.

When she first considered taking on the job she said,

"In everything you do there is good and bad. In this case, the good outweighs the bad. This is the 15th year the Oyster Festival will showcase the village to people who don't know the area," she said. "That was one of the original goals of the festival, and it has accomplished that."

An example of that success is the story of the Bellerjeaus. Seeing the village in person is what brought Claire and Chris Bellerjeau to Oyster Bay. They moved their Northport business, Pleasant Valley Gallery and Gifts to town, after visiting the Oyster Festival, said Karen.

Because of Chris' job, they recently moved to New Jersey, but Claire still maintains the store, and comes to Oyster Bay every weekend.

Chairing the Oyster Festival means new experiences.

Monday, Sept. 28, Karen DeVine, Kathy Wilson, executive director of the chamber and Barbara Hadel, a past president of the chamber and Oyster Festival Chair for two years, were interviewed on radio station WBAB, one of the festival sponsors. "They asked how many oysters were served at the festival each year. We could tell them that the chamber sold 40,000 at their booth last year."

"It's been a learning experience for me. I thought that since this is the 15th year, it would run itself. That was a mistake.

"I've learned about negotiations. In the funeral business the federal trade commission doesn't allow any changes - negotiations - once the prices are set for the year. For the Oyster Festival, it meant sitting down and negotiating with the sponsors," she said.

Saying "no" to people is another facet of the job.

One of the things the chamber has to face is the myriad of phone calls from people who want to be part of the festival. "Someone called and said he had the best barbecue chicken in the whole world and wanted to know why he can't come in and sell it.

"We told them that the only food vendors at the Oyster Festival are the 17 nonprofits in the 11771 zip code area. They obviously haven't tasted the Mt. Olive chicken!"

This year there has been a change in the Arts & Crafts show. This year it will be a juried exhibit. Last year there were complaints about the quality of some of the crafts, she said. There will be 130 exhibitors this year, there were 150 last year. "We are trying to bring the quality up." About 300 people applied to be at the fair.

The judges will include local resident Barbara Ernst Prey, whose paintings are in many private, corporate and museum settings and the internationally famous Mort Kunstler and his wife Debbie as well as Don and Rachel Frislid of Preferred Promotions of Sayville. They do four to five shows a year and will be doing the Arts & Crafts Fair at Planting Fields on Dec. 4.

This year there is new chair for the entertainment committee, Sue Manno of Marine Midland Bank.

"Sue has put together a great entertainment schedule," said Karen.

It includes a local band, Thompson Gunners and Bossa Nova Beatniks that has Oyster Bay High School senior Tim Stapleton in the group. Justin Rossolino will also be playing, his dad, Jimmy Rossolino was the entertainment chair for many years. His band Pearly was a staple at the festival.

Yes, There Will Be Oysters!

There will be plenty of fresh, delectable oysters at the Oyster Festival. The opening ceremony will feature an oyster toast from the Derby-Hall Bandstand at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.

For the Oyster Eating and Oyster Shucking contests Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc. will supply the oysters. This year they will come from Connecticut. "They are still from Long Island Sound," said Dave Relyea.

Sampling of the oysters in Oyster Bay were still going on as the festival approached to see if a natural occurring bacteria found in warmer waters is here. Until the results are in, which will take two to three weeks, the harbor is closed to shellfishing.

Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc., founding sponsor of the Oyster Festival has arranged to get the oysters from Talmadge Brothers of Connecticut.

"We are very close with Talmadge Brothers, who share similar interests with us. They too are interested in the health and well-being of oysters," said Dave.

Mike Deering, executive director of Friends of the Bay said, 'The important thing for the public to understand is that this is a natural occurring bacteria. It is not caused by pollution or sewage discharge. It seems to be attributed to unusually high water temperatures this year. This bay remains one of the cleanest and healthiest in New York State."

Besides food and oyster contests, there will be rides and crafts for the children; a 5 K Supervisor's race on Saturday Oct. 17; and an historic boat exhibit.

This year, there is no sponsor for the G. Lettie Howard that will be coming to Oyster Bay Harbor on Saturday. AT & T wasn't interested in being a sponsor this year. Ms. DeVine-Minicozzi said, "We considered if we should bring the boat to Oyster Bay, and decided, that's what Oyster Bay is all about, so the chamber is picking up the tab to bring it in. It will be docked at the Oyster Bay Marine Center on Saturday and Sunday."

There is an Oyster Bay tie-in with the G. Lettie Howard. Dave Short, the man who is restoring the Christeen oyster sloop, was in charge of the $1.5 million restoration of the G. Lettie Howard. It is an 1893 fishing schooner from Gloucester, Massachusetts. The captain and his assistant, are interesting people, said Karen.

Contrary to what people believe, the chamber doesn't get a great deal from the Oyster Festival. Considering their investment of time and money, some of the nonprofits do better. And, the chamber, as well as the nonprofits, gives back to the community. Two years ago the chamber gave $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club and last year they gave $10,000 to the Doubleday Babcock Senior Center. The rest of the funds go toward the expenses of operating the chamber office.

"It costs $120,000 to put on the Oyster Festival. In the beginning there were a lot of donated services that now get paid," said Karen.

"We pay the Town of Oyster Bay $4,000 to take away all the garbage that is put out at the festival. We pay for the men who operate the sweepers and pay $250 per dumpster filled."

Tom Reardon said in the beginning, the town lent the chamber their trucks and the chamber got people to volunteer to drive them. Now there is a foreman in charge of the men.

But the festival does help many local businesses. "The deli's make a year's rent serving beer at the festival," said chairman Karen.

Rich Cieciuch of Rich-Bern Travel said, "While there is no direct result of the Oyster Festival for my business, there is an indirect result. As all the local organizations prosper, then the businesses prosper. It all comes around," he said.

Karen has been working closely with Kathy Wilson, executive director of the chamber. "Kathy Wilson has been in the chamber office from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the last two weeks. Each day there are 25 to 30 messages on the Oyster Festival phone. It rings non-stop for directions and information.

"Kathy is wonderful - the time and energy she puts in. We leave messages on each other's answering machines at 1 a.m. in the morning, so we don't forget things, including that this year, we need to sell those car raffle tickets!"

The 1999 Dodge Durango will be on display at various locations in town during the next few weeks. The tickets are available throughout the town, including at the chamber office at 120 South Street, at Hallock Chevrolet, Oyster Bay Dodge, the Homestead, Huckleberry's and other locations.

As for the raffle tickets, Rich Cieciuch suggested people put another name down on the ticket - that was how his son and daughter shared a winning ticket. "Think of it as a gift," he said.

Tom Reardon said, a lot of people say they like to get out of town for the Oyster Festival - but there are other people who come to town for the event. In fact, he said, there are people who use it as a time for reunions. "People plan their vacations to come to the Oyster Festival. That's not bad for a 15 year festival."

There's always a problem with the rain, but he said, even during the last rain storm, people came down to buy food. There were booths still open to serve them!

Support Services

The police are wonderful, said Karen. "Their cooperation is amazing." There is a man in the command vehicle who communicates to his men on the street. This year they will be on bicycles to get around easily and quickly. The firemen too are amazing. They are always on site ready to help in case of an emergency. They use golf carts lent by the town, that they stock with emergency equipment so that they can get where needed.

One of the best moments at the Oyster Festival is the closing, said Tom Reardon. "You haven't lived until you're at the Oyster Festival at 6 p.m. to see the Mounted Police riding shoulder to shoulder, pushing everyone out of the streets. They give people half an hour to about 45 minutes, and then clear it out. The horses are impressive," he said. That is when the street cleaning crews come out both Saturday and Sunday.

As the festival winds down, buses take people to their cars at the local parking venues, as they do all during the fair.

One evening, at about 6 p.m., as Kathy Wilson left the chamber office with her husband Monte, she said, "We've handled all of today's emergencies. Tomorrow we'll handle all the ones that come up then."

Kathy and Karen have made a great team: they take things one at a time and solve them and go on to the next.