Sometimes, life just finds a way.
I attended the weekly Pub Quiz on Wednesday night at Stillwater Tavern this past week. My team ended up winning the night (here’s the final question: what color was named by the French after a group of people, based on how often they used it in their decoration? Try your hand in the comments below).
In a tie-breaker earlier on in the night, my team received a ticket to the Cookin’ for Kids oyster roast put on by Child Enrichment Inc. and the Exchange Club of Richmond County.
MORE: Oyster Roast Benefits Programs for Abused Children
I hadn’t yet decided what I was going to write about for this column, and I also had never had an oyster before. Stars aligning.
I arrived at the event, which was held at Daniel Field, around 7 p.m., and the crowd was already on-site in full force. The line for food was dozens of patrons long, which gave me time to talk to a few attendees about why they were and what they thought about the event.
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Iesha Jefferson traveled in from Columbia, S.C. for the event.
“My sister does work with Child Enrichment and does fostering, so I had her get me a ticket so I could come and support the event,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson said that she is a middle school teacher, so she already had a heart for kids. She also told me she grew up on the coast, so she’d be a tough critic when it came to the oysters.
We chatted as the food line wound through community tables flush with oysters and shuckers. I bumped into a friend and former Augusta University classmate, Brooke Arnold, who was shocked and appalled I’d never had an oyster. She made it her mission to change that.
She expertly cracked one open and dressed it up with cocktail sauce and horseradish. It was good! I’d eat one again. Perhaps I’ll make my way over to one of North Augusta’s newest restaurants, Drift Raw Bar, to try some more soon.
Not long after I arrived, The Coveralls took the stage, tuned up and began playing a number of feel-good covers and 80s classics for the attendees. After their set, the live auction portion of the event kicked off.
Some of the items up for grabs were a sunset date night, consisting of a 30-minute aerial sunset tour, gift certificate to Calvert’s and a set of Masters glasses, as well as a dove hunt in Argentina and a wine tasting party.
This went on for some time, and as I was leaving the event, the auctioneer’s call-outs of “$1,000, do I hear $1,200? $1,200, do I hear $1,300?” were greeted by louder and louder cheers from the participants.
Of course, all the money generated from the event will be funneled into Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) programs.
This is the 30th year for the event that started as a two-day wild game cookoff. Over the years, it has evolved to the single night oyster roast, said Maureen McManus, development specialist for Child Enrichment, which administers the CASA and CAC programs.
The event was not held in 2020, but it was a strong return by all accounts on Sept. 25.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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