Roasted oysters in Chuckatuck this April

Published 9:32 pm Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Patrons will be steaming for freshly roasted oysters when the Chuckatuck Ruritan Club’s annual oyster roast returns this April.

The club’s 43rd annual oyster roast will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. April 10 at the Rose Farm in the 6000 block of Everets Road. Signs will point drivers toward the event location at Stoney Landing on the property.

There will be a social hour from 3 to 4 p.m. for visitors to enjoy the beer truck, tea and other beverages with good company before the banquet starts at 4 p.m. Kirk Pretlow, co-chairman for the oyster roast, said that last year brought about 800 people and that the same number should turn out this year for oysters and chowder.

Email newsletter signup

About 175 bushels of oysters will be served from Murray L. Nixon Fishery, of Edenton, N.C., Pretlow said. Volunteers will cook them on the grill and carry them to tables in their wheelbarrows, ready for cocktail sauce and all other toppings. There will also be about 120 gallons of the club’s signature clam chowder to go around.

“We always enjoy putting it on, and it allows us to do a lot of things in the community,” Pretlow said.

Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 on the day of the event. The proceeds go to the club’s efforts to support local organizations like Boy and Girls Scouts of America, Meals on Wheels and Western Tidewater Free Clinic.

Tickets are available at Pretlow and Pretlow, 100 Bank St.; Saunders Supply Company in Chuckatuck; and the office of Dr. J. Dwight Bradshaw and Dr. Brian Briesemeister, 5501-D Bennetts Pasture Road.