Rappahannock Oyster Company has been a part of local oyster history since 1899 when Ryan and Travis Croxton’s grandfather founded an oyster business on the Rappahannock River. A century later, the cousins are back at the oyster business and are mainly responsible for sparking the growth of oyster farming in Virginia’s River Realm. Attendees will be able to tour the farm operation and see what it takes to get the oyster babies from seed to table. A natural partner on the farm tour located a few steps from the Rappahannock River Oyster Company, Merroir is consistently rated as the best restaurant in Virginia. Included in our farm tour; attendees will taste a locally grown oyster along with a tasting of the Chesapeake Oyster Stout. Developed by Flying Dog Brewery, this English style bold flavored stout is washed over Rappahannock River oyster shells for that salty bay flavor. Drinking the Stout actually helps clean the bay since part of the profits go to the Oyster Recovery Partnership, an oyster shell recovery program.

Christchurch School is a small private boarding and day school located on the Rappahannock River. Using funds made from recycling aluminum cans, this student-run oyster program began as an environmental/ educational project. The school now leases 101 acres of river bottom at their waterfront to use for oyster farming. Students watch the growth of the oyster from a 2 millimeter seed to a harvestable adult (3 inches or larger). With cleaning and sorting it takes approximately two years to grow an oyster from seed to adult size. Students also gain a lesson in entrepreneurship and business since the final product is marketed for sale. For this site visit, students will be on-hand to explain the process of growing their oysters from seed. Students that work on the project will be available for tours and to answer questions. Visitors will be allowed to taste Christchurch’s Chesapeake Gold oysters paired with a tasting of Ingleside wine.

Urbanna is the epicenter of the Virginia oyster history and culinary adventure. The village is also the site of the Urbanna Oyster Festival, the official festival of the Oyster in Virginia. On this stop, guests will have a rare opportunity to tour one of the few oyster shucking houses still in operation. View a small Oyster vessel for a short lecture on the tools of the oyster industry from a native Rappahannock River waterman. In addition, attendees will also be able to tour a crab shedding facility at this location. While definitely not an oyster, crabs provide income to waterman during the summer months of June-August, when they are unable to dredge for oysters. At the Urbanna Seafood and Raw Bar restaurant, attendees will view a demonstration from a local oyster shucker on how to best open those tasty bivalves, and will be provided an oyster to taste freshly shucked.

Located at The Tides dock in Irvington, this stop on the tour features a short boat trip provided by Friends of the Rappahannock to the Ellery Kellum Oyster Sanctuary. Learn all about how this man made oyster sanctuary was created through the efforts of The Tides, Kellum’s Seafood and the Friends of the Rappahannock. Each oyster provides over 50 gallons of water filtration per day, cleaning the river as it grows one oyster at a time. The man made oyster sanctuary has been developed to help restore native oyster growth as well as to clean the water. At the reef sanctuary there will be plenty of opportunity for hands on learning and discussions about FOR’s oyster restoration programs and ways you can get involved with protecting the Rappahannock River.

HPP takes the struggle out of opening oysters, a high-tech way to shuck oysters. Visitors will discover a revolutionary pressure machine for opening oysters before they go to markets. The process leaves the whole, delicious, natural product, plumped with its own brine and completely separated from the shell. HPP of Virginia, is providing restaurants, grocery stores and events, with an alternative option to laborious hand-shucked oysters. In addition, Oyster Company of Virginia has also acquired rights to Reeftek, Inc.’s “Oyster Eco Reef Module”, you will be able to see one reef on site! Your guided tour of the facility will end with a sample of an oyster prepared out of the HPP machine.