Blaine Seaside Bash featuring Oysterfest returns Oct. 11

The Blaine Seaside Bash featuring Oysterfest will ring in fall with a day full of shopping, games, live music and oyster shucking on Saturday, October 11 in downtown Blaine.

Event organizers Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 and the city of Blaine will hold the bash from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Peace Portal Drive and H Street, while Drayton Harbor Oyster Company will put on Oysterfest at its restaurant, 685 Peace Portal Drive, and the neighboring H Street Plaza from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“It’s celebrating the things that make Blaine unique,” said Olea Mills, event coordinator at Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2. “We have this gorgeous harbor here that supplies delicious seafood. We’re hoping to highlight local businesses and bring everyone together.”

The bash will kick off at 10 a.m. with live music and a street fair with dozens of vendors. An area with free crafts and games will be set up for children, and there will be two beer gardens for adults in the Border Town Pizza parking lot and at Drayton Harbor Oyster Company.

Contests will provide entertainment throughout the day at a stage in the center of H Street and Peace Portal Drive. The first competitions of the day will be a dog and owner look-a-like contest at 11:30 a.m., cutest baby contest at noon and a seagull call contest at 12:30 p.m. The afternoon will focus on oyster-themed contests, starting with an amateur oyster shucking competition at 1 p.m., followed by an industry professional oyster shucking competition at 2:15 p.m. and a shucking toss at 3 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to wear orange for a community photo at 2 p.m. by the stage.

Oysterfest will have oyster art for children, a silent auction, trivia and corn hole.

Food tickets for Oysterfest may be purchased at the event for seafood specialties that include a seafood boil, oyster bake, seafood tacos and chowder. The Blaine High School volleyball team will also cook hot dogs on H Street Plaza as a fundraiser.

The city’s Downtown Revitalization Project will be closed on Peace Portal Drive north of H Street, but Mills said plenty of street parking will be available near the festival.

“It’s about getting together and having fun as a community,” Mills said. “We’re hoping to highlight good spirits, good community involvement and all of the fun things we can do together.”