33rd Annual Oyster New Year

Elliott's Oyster House is hosting its 33rd Annual Oyster New Year on Saturday, November 7, from 3 PM to 10 PM. The restaurant calls it its annual 'Shellabration,' and it's their way of marking peak oyster season in the Puget Sound. When the cool fall weather returns, the icy North Pacific current drives the shellfish into their prime, giving them a crisp, firm texture and a clean taste. This is the time of year when the local harvest is at its best, and the party is built around that.

On the program, Hit Explosion will be performing live, and there's an Oyster New Year Shuckin' Competition featuring oyster growers and shuckers from across the West Coast. The competition brings in people who work with the shellfish every day, so you'll see the actual growers and shuckers going head-to-head on the waterfront. Between the music and the competition, there are oysters a la carte, along with wines, local beers, and spirits.

Elliott's has been a Seattle waterfront fixture for more than 50 years, with an award-winning oyster bar that stocks 24 to 26 varieties. That reputation earned it the title of America's #1 oyster house from Food and Wine. The venue itself, Pier 56, is a piece of city history: it started as Arlington Dock in the late 1800s, built and owned by a retired ship captain, before it was destroyed in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. The party sells out every year, and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

Tickets are $175 all-inclusive, and the whole thing runs from 3 PM to 10 PM on Saturday, November 7, at Elliott's Oyster House, Pier 56, 1201 Alaskan Way.