Funds raised by the festival help the Norwalk Seaport Association maintain the Sheffield Island Lighthouse as well as develop science education classes. The festival is also used as a fundraiser by more than 20 other local non-profit organizations.
The festival has been run by the Norwalk Seaport Association, a non profit organization, since its inception in 1978. Average annual attendance exceeds 90,000. Each year, the Oyster Festival contributes over $5 million to the local economy. [citation needed]
The 29th annual Oyster Festival took place Friday, September 8 to Sunday, September 10, 2006. Bo Bice, Dion, and Asia were featured performers.[citation needed]
The 30th annual festival took place September 7 to September 9, 2007 with the Village People heading up the entertainment, the band's third appearance. Jay and the Americans were also booked for the event.[1]
The 31st annual festival took place September 5 to September 7, 2008. The festival was called off on Saturday the 6th to accommodate the rain from Hurricane Hanna.[2]Los Lonely Boys performed Friday evening and Kathy Sledge performed Sunday evening.[2]
The 43rd annual event is deferred to 2021 since there was no event in 2020 caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
The 45th annual festival took place on September 8 to September 10, 2023. It was hosted by the Norwalk Seaport Association and presented by First County Bank. Gary LeVox performed on September 9, 2023. [3]
Incidents and accidents
On September 8, 2013, 17 children and one adult were injured in an amusement ride accident in when a swing ride suffered a mechanical failure. Several injured were transported to Norwalk, Stamford and Bridgeport hospitals. None of the injuries were life-threatening.[4]
Carl Palmer of Asia at the 29th Norwalk Oyster Festival on September 10, 2006
Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957,419, representing 26.6% of Connecticut's overall population. The closest to the center of the New York metropolitan area, the county contains four of the state's top 7 largest cities—Bridgeport (1st), Stamford (2nd), Norwalk (6th), and Danbury (7th)—whose combined population of 433,368 is nearly half the county's total population.
Norwalk is a city located in Western Connecticut, United States, in southern Fairfield County, on the northern shore of the Long Island Sound. Norwalk lies within both the New York metropolitan area and the Bridgeport metropolitan area.
South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on August 18, 1870. The cities of Norwalk and South Norwalk were incorporated on June 6, 1913. South Norwalk underwent major redevelopment during the early 21st century, with many new apartments being constructed, often in close proximity to South Norwalk station, and generally more expensive than existing housing.
Sheffield Island Light is a historic lighthouse located at the southern end of the Norwalk Islands in Norwalk, Connecticut. It marks the west side of the mouth of the Norwalk River on northern Long Island Sound.
The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, United States, approximately 21 miles (34 km) long. The word "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land".
The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a 950-acre (384.5 ha) National Wildlife Refuge in ten units across the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge spans 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut coastline and provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 900 acres (364.2 ha) of barrier beach, intertidal wetland and fragile island habitats.
The Norwalk Transit District (NTD) is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and surrounding communities. The local Norwalk fixed-route bus transit system, is the primary service of the district linking Norwalk and its immediate suburbs. The agency also operates regional bus services as far north as Danbury and as far east as Bridgeport and commuter shuttles to Metro-North stations. Paratransit door-to-door services are available for residents in the service area unable to use regular transit services. Norwalk Transit contracts with local transportation service providers to perform some of the door-to-door services, and is also the provider of public transit for the Westport Transit District.
The history of Norwalk, Connecticut ranges from pre-contact cultures and Native Americans to the 21st century.
East Norwalk is a neighborhood of Norwalk, Connecticut, located mostly in Norwalk's third taxing district with segments of its northernmost area within the first and fifth taxing districts. As one of the earliest settlements of Norwalk, it was so marked with a block of 'suitably inscribed' 'native granite' formally located on the corner of Fitch Street and East Avenue.
An oyster festival is a food festival centered on the oyster. There are a number of oyster festivals worldwide, including the following:
The Central or Midtown section of Norwalk, Connecticut is an urbanized area in roughly the geographic center of the city, north of the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Connecticut Turnpike. Wall Street, West Avenue and Belden Avenue are the main thoroughfares. It has also been called "Norwalk Center" or "Downtown Norwalk".
The Norwalk Islands are a chain of more than 25 islands amid partly submerged boulders, reefs and mudflats along a six-mile (10 km) stretch and mostly about a mile off the coast of Norwalk, Connecticut, and southwest Westport, Connecticut, in Long Island Sound.
Cinefest Fairfield is an annual film festival since 2005 featuring short films by students, alumni and faculty of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, held in association with the Fairfield Community Theatre. The festival is sponsored by the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and showcases its innovative New Media Program.
Spring Hill is a section of Norwalk, Connecticut named after the hill on which most of the neighborhood sits. The neighborhood is located west of the Central section of Norwalk, across U.S. Route 7 and north of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. Norwalk Hospital is on the eastern edge of the neighborhood. Riverside Cemetery is on the northeastern edge.
Norwalk Harbor is a recreational and commercial harbor and seaport at the estuary of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States.
The Norwalk rail accident occurred on May 6, 1853, in Norwalk, Connecticut, and was the first major U.S. railroad bridge disaster; 48 were killed when a train travelling at 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) plunged into the Norwalk Harbor off of an open swing bridge.
Milford Oyster Festival, sometimes shortened to "Oysterfest," is an annual cultural festival held on the third Saturday of August throughout the city of Milford, Connecticut. As a major tourist attraction, billed as the largest one-day festival in the New England region and listed among the top 10 annual events in Connecticut, the Oyster Festival draws over 50,000 attendees each year. It is planned by the non-profit organization Annual Milford Oyster Festival, inc. (AMOF), largely run by volunteers.
St. Mary is a Roman Catholic church in Norwalk, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport. As the first Catholic Church in Norwalk from which three other parishes developed, St. Mary's is considered the Mother Church of Norwalk.
Hope is an oyster sloop that was completed in 1948. It is believed to be the last sail-powered oystering vessel built on the Long Island Sound. Hope is 56 feet (17 m) long, including the bowsprit, and 42 feet 2 inches (12.9 m) at the waterline. Its beam is 15 feet 2 inches (4.6 m), and it draws 4 feet 9 inches (1.4 m) with the centerboard up. Hope is gaff rigged, 'V'-bottomed and has an 850-pound (390 kg) centerboard. Hope's shallow draft facilitated shoal water work.
The Chris and Paul Show is an American sketch comedy duo composed of Christopher John O'Neill and Paul Valenti. They are known for their vaudeville-inspired physical comedy, which consists of largely pantomimed scenes with minimal or no dialogue. The duo began performing 1999, and are based in New York City. They have toured across the United States and in Europe. They gained wide exposure in 2019 as contestants on the NBC comedy competition television series Bring the Funny, in which they placed as finalists.
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