It was a surprise to hear the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce's decision to hold off on Oyster Festival 2001 and to work on a bigger and better Oyster Festival 2002. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

What was really great about the chamber meeting on Thursday, Feb. 1 was seeing some of the longtime members back with what looks like some fresh enthusiasm.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the decision plays out. In the vernacular: "Is that your final answer?"

We called a non-profit and a local business to begin to get a feel for how the decision of the chamber will sit for other groups.

"It will impact our budget significantly," said Bev Zembko director of the Oyster Bay Co-operative Pre-school, a longtime participant in the festival. "We participated in every one except the first.

"To make up that kind of profit it would require more than one fund raiser to replace the Oyster Fest. I don't know what will happen but I think the Oyster Fest is a good thing for Oyster Bay."

Mark Fox, owner of Canterbury Ales, said he had heard of the chamber's decision. He said, "It comes as a surprise that the chamber should act so promptly to remove Kathy as executive director, without a back up plan.

I can understand that over the years it has been hard to get volunteers to run the festival but my feeling is that: if 'push come to shove' and the festival is on the brink of being eliminated, and the decision were put before a number of businesses and nonprofits groups I think that people would have come to the forefront, and given that opportunity, would save the festival."

He was concerned that the decision didn't include all the board members nor all the members of the chamber. It appeared to him to be a spur of the moment decision.

"If they had put the decision/circumstance to the entire membership and explained what they had in mind, they could have possibly gotten a better result," he said.

"I think there are a lot of businesses that will be hurt. Many count on the revenue from the Oyster Festival to get through the winter months. And more than the businesses, the non-profits will be devastated.

"I think before the decision was made, they could have been more forward with the businesses and the organizations," said Mr. Fox.

"There is a chance that people would rally and that chance was never given.

"It's true, my business does benefit from the Oyster Festival in both the short time picture and the longtime picture - of exposure. But, I will survive. We'll do our own marketing scheme to make up the losses from the festival."

As Mr. Fox spoke, you could "hear the wheels turning." He said, "we have to reinvent the wheel. That's what the restaurant business is all about. That's our job now. Maybe a special oyster promotion in October, September and November. It's not the worst of circumstances," he said.

Ms. Zembko was thinking too. Last year Mt. Olive Baptist Church couldn't get enough workers to man their booth. She said, "Maybe the PTA would help Mt. Olive with the work for a share of the profits. That would have to be looked into," she added.

Well, it looks like there is more to say on this issue. The chamber did say they were talking about other things as fund raisers, such as antique shows or car shows.

There is still a lot to decide which is why we are sticking to our original comment: "Is this your final answer?"