The new Baton Rouge Oyster Festival brings a shucking contest and the Spin Doctors June 30

Shucking, cooking and, of course, eating—each stage of the oyster’s journey from sea to plate will take center stage this weekend at the inaugural Baton Rouge Oyster Festival.

The festival was organized by Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar. Eric Carnegie, one of the restaurant’s co-owners, shared with 225 his team’s motivation for launching the event.

“I came up with the idea alongside my other business partners,” Carnegie says. “There are a lot of similar festivals (elsewhere), so we wanted to bring Baton Rouge its first premier seafood festival.”

Festival attendees will be able to indulge in oysters of all varieties—raw, fried, chargrilled, Rockefeller, Bienville and more—all prepared on-site by local food vendors.

While southern Louisiana’s quintessential mollusk will serve as the festival’s main focus, the fun doesn’t stop there. Patrons will also have access to non-oyster food vendors, cash bars and live music from nationally known outfits like Spin Doctors and New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

“There’s something for everybody,” Carnegie says.

In addition to the food, drinks and music, the festival will feature a handful of traditional oyster-centric competitions, including a shucking contest, a cook-off and an eating competition. The winners will take home some sweet prizes, such as four 50-yard-line tickets to a Saints game, among other rewards.

Access to the festival is free, but food and drinks will need to be purchased. VIP tickets are also available—they cost $75 and can be purchased here. VIP ticket holders will get access to front-row seating for the stage, tented areas for escaping the heat, free Tin Roof beer, free water and soda, private bathrooms and a private cash bar.

The inaugural Baton Rouge Oyster Festival will take place at the Galvez Plaza downtown Saturday, June 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you can’t make it this weekend, though, you should have plenty of chances to experience the festival for years to come, as Jolie Pearl is already making plans for the future.

“This will be an annual thing,” Carnegie says. “We’re already looking at doing a two-day festival next year.”