Connecticut Travel

Each season the Norfolk Historical Society organizes a major exhibition, and this summer’s exhibit displays the photography of Marie Hartig Kendall from 1854 when few women practiced this art form.

Kendall, a self-taught photographer moved to Norfolk with her husband in 1878 where she opened her photography business. She took many images of life in Norfolk showcasing its development, natural beauty, the relationship of the people living in this town to the landscape and the surrounding environment.

This exhibition includes many notable images such as the photo of Sarah Bishop’s Cave, a landmark on West Mountain. Bishop was a hermit that escaped to this cave after the Revolutionary War until her death. Another image, the facade of the Norfolk Public Library with its barrel tile roof, scalloped shingles and window boxes overflowing with summer flowers shows the bucolic aspect of Norfolk that the town still exudes today.

Other images capture locomotives, historic weather events, economic development and bucolic pastimes as the town flourished as a summer resort at the turn of the century. Images include those that won her top honors at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Marie Kendall Exhibition runs weekends from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through Columbus Day at the Norfolk Historical Society located on 13 Village Green.

The final day of the 2018 Norwalk Oyster Festival is today. Today is also Family Day- kids 12 and under get in free with a paying adult. Unlimited ride wristband available for $25 from 11 am – 3 pm. Visit magic shows in Kids Cove, check out the Lumberjack and Nerveless Nocks Thrill Show, explore the arts and crafts area with 100 plus vendors, and the International Food Court where you can have a lobster dinner and much more. Take a ride on the 65-foot gondola Ferris wheel for a birds-eye view of the fun.

The Connecticut National Guard 102 Army Band performs at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage. The Jimmy Kenny and the Pirate Beach Band plugin on the Main Stage at 4 p.m. Join the party with Jimmy Kenny in your best Parrothead gear and celebrate summer fun @ the 2018 Oyster Festival!

At the Heineken Entertainment Tent, the Sunday line-up starts with the award-winning Silver Steel Band that takes the stage at 12 noon sharp. Get ready for a trip to the Caribbean when this band starts to play some of their favorite styled music from Trinidad and Tobago as well as Soca and Calypso, Rock, Latin and your Disney Favorites! At 1 p.m. get ready for the music of the vibrant, high energy band called the Juicy Grapes. This popular band has been performing high energy funk, rock, and soul since the late ’90s . Get ready to be wowed by the young musicians from The Paul Green Rock Academy who take the stage at 2 p.m. For a change of pace, the Summertime Band will take you back to the 50s and 60s with Swing, Doo Wop and classic rock tunes at 3 p.m. Next on tap is Bobby T’s All-Star at 4 p.m. and is followed by RD3 at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. the dynamic Ratso and Friends will be belting out blues that is sure to charm the audience. The final performers of the night the Norwalk Oyster Festival is Logical Pretzel at 7 p.m.

Tickets

The event is held at Veterans Park, adjacent to Norwalk Harbor on Seaview Avenue in Norwalk, CT. Admission for adults is $10 on Friday, $12 on Saturday and Sunday. Senior tickets are $10 all days. Children 5-12 year’s old are $5. Children under 5 and U.S. military personnel on active duty are free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.seaport.org.

Festival Hours: Friday, Sept. 7, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For those that want to take the train, Metro-North is offering a discount package with free shuttle service from the train station to the Oyster Festival.

Free parking and shuttle service available from Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk City Hall, and Norwalk Community College.

Three days of fun, food, entertainment on multiple stages, plus special events for families and friends, from nine to ninety marks just some of the activities to be found at the 2018 Norwalk Oyster Festival hosted by the Seaport Association on Friday, September 7, Saturday, September 8, and Sunday, September 9, 2018 at the 35-acre Veterans Memorial Park in Norwalk.

At 7 p.m. on the Main Stage Moriah Formica, a top 20 contestant on Season 13 of The Voice will take the stage at 7 p.m. She has played with several national touring acts and has released her debut EP, Bring It On.

On September 8 at 8 p.m. Festival Headliner, Steve Augeri, Journey, the former lead singer takes the Main Stage and will take festival-goers on a “journey” well worth taking. Expect fan friendly audience interactions, a strong stage presence, soaring vocals and hit after hit of iconic classic rock songs like Don’t Stop Believing, Anyway You Want It, Faithfully, Loving, Touching, Feeling and many other hits. Fans may even be in for an exclusive treat if Augeri decides to include an original new song or two in the mix that has thrilled audiences worldwide.

On the Heineken Stage, the music begins at 12 noon sharp with Rubber Band whose song list covers a very wide range of music and time periods. MN8 takes the stage at 1 p.m. with music that is sure to get the audience moving. For a change of pace, Joni and the Keepers take the stage at 2 p.m. Singer-songwriter Joni Wallace and the Keepers bring to the stage acoustic music from top female artists. A true Milford ‘supergroup’ formed in summer 2014 The Void takes the stage at 3 p.m. This band brings members of Inside/Out, Murray The Wheel, The Barrelhouse Boys, and more. If you like the blues you are in for a treat when the Jay Willie Blues Band takes the stage at 4 p.m. with music steeped in lyrical emotion and sultry melodies that are open to endless improvisations bothy lyrically and musically. At 5 p.m. The Cold Ones will rock your world with high energy rock and roll. Their style is influenced by a range of bands from the Black Crowes and Aerosmith to Lady Gaga, Rihanna to Kansas, Bush, and Puddle of Mud. The evening starts with the Gunn Street Revival Band at 6 p.m. whose musical tastes range from the 60s to the 90s. For a Saturday night adrenaline, audiences will groove to the sounds of this premier party rock cover band, Bad Boy at 7 p.m. At 8 p.m. experience the vibrant sound of Neo Sound, that is composed of a diverse group of musicians connected through a shared desire to create a stage show that captivates their audience. The final band to take the stage at 9 p.m. is Killer D.

Tickets

The event is held at Veteran’s Park, adjacent to Norwalk Harbor on Seaview Avenue in Norwalk, CT. Admission for adults is $10 on Friday, $12 on Saturday and Sunday. Senior tickets are $10 all days. Children 5-12 year’s old are $5. Children under 5 and U.S. military personnel on active duty are free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.seaport.org.

Festival Hours: Friday, Sept. 7, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For those that want to take the train, Metro-North is offering a discount package with free shuttle service from the train station to the Oyster Festival.

Free parking and shuttle service available from Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk City Hall, and Norwalk Community College.

When it comes to oysters, Connecticut has a lot to celebrate, especially Norwalk which has long been known as “Oyster Town”. The Norwalk Island chain, including Sheffield Island, creates the ideal environment for renewed oyster growing operations such as the Copps Island Oysters based in Norwalk.

The Eastern Oyster was designated as the state shellfish in 1989. It is a bivalve mollusk that grows naturally in Connecticut’s tidal rivers and coastal bays and is cultivated in seeded beds in Long Island Sound by oyster farmers. Norwalk has had a long history with oysters so it is no surprise the members of the Norwalk Seaport Association has organized an annual festival to fete this delicious shellfish. September 7,8 and 9 marks the 41st annual Norwalk Oyster Festival that is held in Veterans Park on Seaview Ave. in Norwalk.

The Norwalk Oyster Festival is the perfect place to slurp fresh off the boat oysters raised right here in Norwalk. Norwalk’s oysters are known for their freshness, sweet briny flavor, and buttery plump meats. If you are new to oyster slurping you might want to start small. Although there is no incorrect way to slurp an oyster, we recommend that you slurp the meat with its “liquor” and give it two or three good chews. Salt and brine hit first and is followed by a sweet buttery flavor that tastes of the sea. Oysters come with a variety of accouterments such as lemon, cocktail sauce or red wine vinegar it’s up to you how you want to garnish your oyster.

The Norwalk Oyster Festival offers a wide array of attractions the whole family will enjoy, including continuous entertainment by local musicians and national acts such as Steve Augeri, Journey former lead singer, a vast array of food at the International Food Court, an unlimited ride wristband for kids on Sat. & Sun., 100 plus art and craft vendors, and several special entertainment venues that round out three days of fun. Best of all, entertainment is included in the cost of admission.

Tickets, Parking & Metro-North

The event is held at Veteran’s Park, adjacent to Norwalk Harbor on Seaview Avenue in Norwalk, CT. Admission for adults is $10 on Friday, $12 on Saturday and Sunday. Senior tickets are $10 all days. Children 5-12 year’s old are $5. Children under 5 and U.S. military personnel on active duty are free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.seaport.org.

Festival Hours: Friday, Sept. 7, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For those that want to take the train Metro-North is offering a discount package with free shuttle service from the train station to the Oyster Festival.

Free parking and shuttle service available from Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk City Hall, and Norwalk Community College.

About the Norwalk Seaport Association

The Norwalk Seaport Association was founded in 1978 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, education and public awareness of Norwalk’s maritime environment and heritage. The Seaport Association and its volunteers are solely responsible for organizing and financing the Oyster Festival. In addition to the Oyster Festival, the Norwalk Seaport Association owns Sheffield Lighthouse and its volunteers maintain the lighthouse and grounds as a museum and nature preserve. For more information, visit www.seaport.org. or call (203) 838-9444.

Oyster History

Oysters were an important source of food for Native Americans and became a staple in the diet of early European settlers who learned how to harvest them from Long Island Sound. By the 18th century, many natural oyster beds were depleted so laws were enacted relating to the designation of individually parceled oyster grounds.

The 1800s is when oystering boomed in Norwalk and by the mid.-19th century, Connecticut led oyster seed production north of New Jersey. By 1911 Connecticut’s oyster production peaked at nearly 25 million pounds of oyster meat, that was much higher than nearby states of New York, Mass. and Rhode Island. Demand for Norwalk oysters increased and with the expansion of the railroad’s new markets were opened up. Norwalk was the largest producer of oysters in Connecticut and had the biggest fleet of oyster boats with steam power in the world, and Norwalk became known as “Oyster Town”.

Economic depressions, coastal human population, industrialization, and marine traffic lead to a decline in oyster production. In 1997 and 1998 80% of the state’s oysters were destroyed because of a spike in the water temperatures that resulted in a naturally occurring parasite.

Today, marine biologists have teamed up with local oystermen to develop hardier parasite resistant oysters and ways to improve water quality in order to create a sustainable breeding and farming environment for oysters. Because of the success of these programs, there is a resurgence in renewed oyster growing operations like Copps Island Oysters based in Norwalk.

Three days of fun, food, entertainment on multiple stages, plus special events for families and friends, from nine to ninety marks just some of the activities to be found at the 2018 Norwalk Oyster Festival hosted by the Seaport Association on Friday, September 7, Saturday, September 8, and Sunday, September 9, 2018 at the 35-acre Veterans Memorial Park in Norwalk. 

Funky Dawgz kicks off the festival on Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. on the Main Stage with an exuberant performance that combines a contagious upbeat mix of traditional New Orleans R&B, original music, hip-hop, funk, and today’s top hits played with a brass twist.  

The amazingly talented New Orleans style jazz- funk band, Deep Banana Blackout takes the Main Stage at 9 p.m. and the festival audience will be treated to Grade A+ funk. This eight-piece musical ensemble is a legendary musical force on the East Coast underground funk, jazz, and jam scenes and considered by many to be one of the hottest, hippest live shows to be heard in the Northeast. 

There is more entertainment in the Heineken Tent.  On Friday night, the entertainment opens with Oyster Stew at 7 p.m. featuring Wendy Burch Steel a singer and songwriter that will entertain you with original songs, bluegrass, folk, country and gospel tunes. The 60’s Satisfaction Band is sure to get you in a party mood where you will relive an era — and, what better way to ramp up the 2018 Oyster Festival than with a  60’s band that performs all your bubblegum, psychedelic and Motown favorites that will get you into the TGIF mood!  The final performance on Friday is School of Rock at  9 p.m. Join the best and most hardworking students from School of Rock Fairfield, School of Rock Bedford, and School of Rock New Canaan as they rock the audience on the first night of the festival.

The event is held at Veterans Park, adjacent to Norwalk Harbor on Seaview Avenue in Norwalk, CT.  Admission for adults is $10 on Friday, $12 on Saturday and Sunday.  Senior tickets are $10 all days.  Children 5-12 year’s old are $5.  Children under 5 and U.S. military personnel on active duty are free.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.seaport.org.  

Festival Hours: Friday, Sept. 7, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Free parking and shuttle service available from Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk City Hall and Norwalk Community College.

The Norwalk Oyster Festival is a time-honored tradition in Norwalk that takes place every September. This year the Festival will be held on September 7, 8, and 9 at Veterans Park in Norwalk. The Norwalk Oyster Festival offers a wide array of attractions the whole family will enjoy, including continuous entertainment by local musicians and national acts such as Steve Augeri, Journey former lead singer, a vast array of food at the International Food Court, a unlimited ride wristband for kids on Sat. & Sun., 100 plus art and craft vendors, and several special entertainment venues that round out three days of fun. Best of all, entertainment is included the cost of admission.​

One of the acts that will be WOWing fairgoers is The Nerveless Nocks Thrill Show. Nock and his family have been dazzling audiences with their high flying death-defying performances for eight generations! The show has a history that goes back to 1840 when the group first performed as Switzerland’s first circus club. The Original Nocks performed for Queen Elizabeth in 1954 as a command performance in London, England and after their performance for the Queen she named them Nerveless and the name was created.​

The Nocks have performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, at numerous World Fairs and Exhibitions, countless fairs and festivals worldwide and have even participated in Walt Disney’s Disney on Parade. Acts include the Sway Pole Act, Space Wheel, Helicopter Trapeze, Motorcycle High Wire, Carolina Espana Nocks Contortions and The Globe of Thunder Acts. ​

The current members of the Nerveless Nocks consist of Michelangelo Nock, Carolina Espana Nock, Angelina Nock and Cyrus Nock. Carolina Espana Nock is a highly talented flying trapeze artist, The Flying Espanas and Daredevil Artist. Her circus roots date back 100 years and 5 generations as one of Mexico’s and the world’s greatest Circus families. Carolina performs on the giant Sway Poles and is the only woman to ever perform on the giant Space Wheel. Cyrus Nock has been performing and touring the world since the age of 4 and is now the top motorcycle stuntman of his generation.

About the Norwalk Oyster Festival
The Norwalk Oyster Festival is taking place at Norwalk’s Veteran’s Memorial Park on Seaview Ave. on Friday, Sept. 7, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., and Sunday, September 9 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday night adults $10, Sat. & Sun. $12, Children 5-12, $5, Children under 5 free, and Seniors 62+ $10. Advance tickets are available online by clicking here.

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