Greenport’s oyster tradition lives on with Raise Shell 2025
As word has gotten out that the 14th annual Shellabration in Greenport Village has been cancelled, the good news for oyster lovers is that Little Creek Oyster’s Hold Fast Fund has stepped in to keep the event alive and shell, but in a slightly different format.
Raise Shell 2025 will kick off the evening of Friday, Dec. 5, with a few different events: Greenport Harbor Brewing Company at 234 Carpenter Street will host a kickoff party from 5-8 p.m. with live music and selected oyster shuckers; Little Creek Oysters will host a first anniversary bash to celebrate one year in their new space at 211 Carpenter Street, with the festivities extending to their Hold Fast Fund annex at 216 Main Street, running from 6-10 p.m.; and The North Fork Art Collective will hold their second-year anniversary show from 5-8 p.m. at their space in the historic Fiedler Gallery at 207 Main Street.
The Raise Shell 2025 festival itself will run on Saturday Dec. 6 and Sunday Dec. 7 from noon to 6 p.m.
The SPAT Oyster Hall, held in the Hold Fast Fund’s 216 Main Street storefront, will feature over a dozen local oyster farmers shucking their wares as well as live music by local musicians. The $75 per day ticket entitles guests to unlimited oysters, and proceeds go to benefit Cornell’s Southold Project in Aquaculture Training program, which assists those raising shellfish for restoration, educational and business purposes.
“We wanted to support SPAT, who supported us when we were getting started,” says Ian Wile, who, along with his wife Rosalie Rung, own and operate Little Creek Oysters and their nonprofit arm, the Hold Fast Fund.
The oyster business on Long Island has changed quite a bit since the first Shellabration was held in 2011. In the event’s early days, Wile notes, there were not a lot of oysters on restaurant menus. There also were far fewer oyster farms than the 45 that operate on the East End today.
“Our job was to stand there and talk about what we do,” says Wile, “and also to tell people to come out and support [SPAT].” The few hundred tickets sold each year grew to 1,500 tickets sold in 2024. “The flow of all those people became complicated.”
Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine Program and the Greenport Business Improvement District announced the Shellabration’s pause in a letter on the event’s website last month. “We want to make sure that Shellabration supports the missions of CCE’s SPAT and Back to the Bays Programs and that it also equally benefits the entire Greenport business community,” the letter reads.
Cornell and the Greenport BID intend to “work with individual restaurants, business owners, local residents and past participants to improve the experience for everyone next year.”
In addition to this year’s Oyster Hall, over 35 Greenport businesses will be participating in Raise Shell. Many restaurants will serve small tastes showcasing local aquaculture for under $10, while some will feature seafood-based chef specials on the menu for the weekend. Tickets are not required for the restaurant crawl.
Ticketholders (and some non-ticketholders) will enjoy discounts at various retail businesses throughout the village, and most participating businesses will donate a portion of proceeds to the SPAT program. “We really want to see the shops and businesses full and fun,” says Wile.
In addition, there will be an art crawl, live music throughout the village, and the Christmas tree lighting at Mitchell Park at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
A clickable map of participating restaurants and retail shops can be found on the Raise Shell 2025 website. Some of the weekend’s upcoming specials:
- First and South will feature $10 seafood specials and oyster and liqueur pairings
- Stirling Sake will serve seafood ramen featuring razor clams, sea scallops and little neck clams, and fresh cedar sake.
- Lucharitos will have blackfish tacos or a Tex-Mex local seafood stew, paired with Lucha Lager from Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
- Black Llama will have drink specials and live music
- American Beech will have a special prix fixe dinner available
- The Market will have a palate cleanse station for $6 with three fresh veggie shots on Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Alpina will have a croquettes and vin chaud (hot wine) special
- Blue Duck Bakery Café will offer a free small coffee or hot chocolate with a $10 purchase
- Clarke’s Garden and Home will offer ticketholders 10% off all holiday gifts, plants, flowers, wreaths, trees and greens and will feature homemade cookie and chocolate tastings
- Common Ground Fine Jewelry + Studio will donate 15% of all sales during Raise Shell to the SPAT program
- Harbor Pets will have all fish treats on sale with proceeds directed to the SPAT program
- Greenport Wines and Spirits will have a complimentary local wine tasting on Saturday from 2-5 p.m.; all weekend all local wines will be discounted 15%
For the event’s full program, the latest updates and to purchase tickets, check the Raise Shell 2025 website.
