A multitude of oysters and buckets of clam chowder were consumed at a much-loved Chuckatuck Ruritan Club fundraising event Wednesday — and judging by the geniality, it all added up to a recipe for success.

Club Co-Chairman Kirk Pretlow said the crowd chewed through somewhere between 150 and 200 bushels of oysters during 26th annual oyster roast, at Kirk Farm on Everets Road.

But it was the first time for years the event was not sold out, he said, with 975 of 1050 tickets sold.

“We see the people come back every year,” he said. “Some have probably been coming for as long as we’ve been putting it on.”

Nevertheless, the scene Wednesday was reminiscent of a Roman feast. Volunteers shoveling oysters onto the roasting plate were almost harried trying to keep up with demand.

“It’s a great event, because it raises a lot of money to help community organizations,” said one volunteer oyster loader, Arthur Bradshaw. “It’s good to get everybody together and have some fun.”

David Williams and Sam Whitmore, both of Wakefield, were impressed with the event overall. “So far, we’ve had a good time,” Whitmore said.

If there had been a competition for best hat, Brian Hankins would have won it, in his pink-and-grey plaid headwear.

“I don’t like oysters, but I like to eat them,” he joked.

Pretlow thanked the many volunteers and partners who helped make the event a success.

He said the Chuckatuck Ruritan Club and other area branches of the national civic service organization work hard to support Suffolk and surrounding communities.

“All the money we receive goes back to support the community,” he said. “Groups like Meals on Wheels, Boy Scouts, Girl scouts, Western Tidewater Free Clinic — a whole host of things.”