Over 1,000 attendees filled Pier 56 for Elliott’s 2019 Oyster New Year last Saturday, November 2nd.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as a first timer at Oyster New Year, but I was shocked to see a line coming down Pier 56 and spilling out onto the boardwalk when we arrived at 4:00 pm for VIP hour.

After entering the event space behind Elliot’s Oyster House, we were handed a plate and a wine glass. Shuffling along in excitement with the other attendees, my eyes lit up like Christmas morning when we turned the corner and saw rows and rows of oysters shucked and ready to be eaten.

Oyster growers were shucking over 30 varieties of local oysters at the 150-foot oyster bar. All of the oysters were incredibly fresh, and there was not an oyster I didn’t like. When attendees needed a break from raw oysters (I guess that’s a thing for some people), they could enjoy the fresh seafood buffet, which included items like Dungeness crab cakes, fried cod, and ahi tuna nachos.

All of the food went down easy thanks to IPAs and stouts provided by local breweries, and wine from over 60 wineries. In addition to the amazing drink and food, we had such a fun night dancing to live music, voting in the “Most Beautiful Oyster” contest, and slurping down oysters flying down the Oyster Luge.

As if all of that wasn’t reason enough to keep your eyes open for tickets to go on sale next June for the 2020 Oyster New Year, proceeds from this annual charity event benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF). PSRF is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the Sound’s water quality and native marine species and their habitats. Elliott’s has now donated over $115,000 to the fund in total over the years.