Tom Robbins likened eating an oyster to French-kissing a mermaid. Hemingway lost the "empty feeling" after a famous oyster meal, and Shakespeare believed the world was his oyster with sword he would open.
There is something about oysters.
"Oysters are good for you, and they remind you of the ocean," offers Jon Rowley, an international expert, connoisseur and advocate of the oyster.
On Saturday, May 7, a bit of the ocean and the First Annual Pat's Oyster Bash come to Queen Anne Hill. The event, a benefit for the "Big Howe" Playground renovation, features oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms, nude, stewed and barbecued. There will be Hilltop Gumbo from Hilltop Alehouse, Mac and Jack's beer and live music. Other sponsors include the Drachen Foundation, Metropolitan Market and, of course, Pat's on the Ave.
"This event is totally local," explains Pat Nolan, Hill celebrity and owner of Pat's. "All of these people came together in a very short time."
The Oyster Bash idea came about over coffee at Pat's. Nolan was telling a customer about an oyster event he used to attend at the Interbay P-Patch.
"The event was really fun," says Nolan, describing the P-Patch oyster fundraiser put on by Rowley, a man who unites the world with oysters.
So fun, that Nolan spoke to Rowley about bringing an oyster fundraiser to the Hill.
What is it about oysters?
"I don't know," replies on Rowley with a twinkle in his eyes. "What is it about oysters?"
This year, Rowley and his famous 16th Annual Anthony's Oyster Olympics Fundraiser raised more than $39,000 for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. Attendees ate, drank and merrily slurped the zinc-filled shellfish while helping out the environment.
"Without clean water we don't have oysters," says Rowley. "It's going to be a challenge in the future."
Back on the Hill, Pat's Oyster Bash will help raise funds for Big Howe, Queen Anne's largest and most centrally located play area. The playground, its condition rapidly deteriorating, is used year round by thousands of children. Money from the Bash will help replace aging play equipment and create new landscaping surrounding the play area.
"When I was a kid, that park was brand new," remembers Nolan. "I watched them build that park. Now, 30 years later, it needs to be redone."
While oysters need a clean ocean to survive, kids need a playground to thrive. The two are connected, and it comes as no surprise that Rowley, a soft-spoken man outwardly pas-sionate about oysters, would use the ancient shellfish as a way to generate funds and address community issues.
"When you think of oysters, don't think of them as a food," concludes Rowley.
Instead, he explains that the experience is like going to listen to music.
"It isn't simply eating," he stresses. "You are focusing on the oysters."
It isn't simply eating; you are making a better world.
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