In 1920, Noah T. Evans built a buyboat in Crisfield and named it for his daughters. For more than 50 years, Winnie Estelle bought fish and oysters from watermen out on the water and carried them to market. At 3 p.m. this Saturday, November 7, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum christens her at OysterFest after a three-year refit in its working Shipyard.
St. Michaels has two oyster events that Saturday. The Wildset Hotel holds its first Field & Tide food fair on North Street, and its tickets cover Harris Creek and Metompkin Bay oysters. The fair closes at 3 p.m., the same time the christening starts. Taken together, the two schedules follow the oyster from creek to boat to plate, and the afternoon ends at the museum's waterfront, where the christening takes place.
The boat that bought the catch
A buyboat was the middleman of the old oyster trade. Watermen sold their catch on the water, and boats like Winnie Estelle hauled it to market. CBMM's record of her history lists a chain of owners. Watson "Shug" Marshall and his son Gene bought her in 1960 and sold her in 1975. Michael Whitehill bought her in early 2012, and an anonymous donor gave her to the museum in 2014.
The refit went deeper than a fresh coat of paint. The Star Democrat reported that the Shipyard replaced her original keel. Crews also worked on structural timbers, including chines and bottom planks, left over from her time as a charter boat in the Caribbean. The museum's refit log starts with a February 9, 2024 update. It records keel removal on March 15 and work on the new keel by April 5 of that year. Its updates name Shipyard Manager Robert Leiby, Shipwright Chip Gutsch and Master Shipwrights Patrick Mertaugh and Jeff Reid among the staff on the project.
She went back into the Miles River this fall. In its October 14 OysterFest announcement, CBMM called the christening "an important milestone for CBMM and its community." The museum says she is now ready to work as a floating classroom and ecotourism vessel. Buyboats from around the Bay are also coming to join the festivities.
The boat that once ran oysters to market is getting her new start at a festival built around oysters, which explains why her ceremony anchors the afternoon.
Where Saturday's oysters come from
Both events serve oysters from the waters near St. Michaels. At OysterFest, CBMM says the oysters come from the Talbot Watermen Association and several local oyster farms, served both raw and cooked. At Field & Tide, the Talbot Patriot reports fresh-shucked oysters from Metompkin Bay and Harris Creek.
Harris Creek has a long history in Bay restoration. It was the first Maryland tributary picked for large-scale oyster restoration. The Oyster Recovery Partnership says reef work there started in 2011 and finished in 2020, covering 348 acres. In 2021 monitoring, 98% of the restored reefs met the bar for success. NOAA Fisheries counts 343 acres of healthy reef in Harris Creek through the end of 2024. Over that time, 2.49 billion seed oysters were planted at a total restoration cost of $29.06 million. Maryland DNR's 2021–2025 oyster management review puts the Harris Creek sanctuary in its top productivity group, above the 80th percentile among sanctuaries. DNR defines sanctuaries as permanently closed to public harvest so they can protect habitat and breeding stock. That makes the creek both a food source for Saturday's menus and one of the Bay's best-known restoration projects.
The fair also sends part of its proceeds back to the Bay. The Wildset's Eventbrite listing sends 10% of ticket sales, excluding tax and gratuity, to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Two gates, one Saturday
The events differ in price, length of day and how much is included, so planning for both takes some care.
| OysterFest | Field & Tide fair | |
|---|---|---|
| Host | Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum | The Wildset Hotel |
| Location | 213 North Talbot St. | Milk Truck Garage, 113 North St. |
| Hours | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Admission | $22 adult nonmember online; $19 seniors and students; $9 ages 6–17; free for 5 and under; $10 adult members online | From $97.88 on Eventbrite |
| Included | Admission; food and drink sold separately | Oysters, small plates from the chefs, Bark BBQ, live music |
| Sold separately | Oysters, food, beer, cocktails | Beer from Other Half Brewing and Eden Town Brewing; cocktails from Ruse |
OysterFest also sells a VIP ticket, $80 for nonmembers and $50 for members. It includes six half-shell oysters, entry to the stew competition with a mug, and a VIP lounge with complimentary beer and wine. Buying online in advance saves $2, and tickets are also sold at the door.
At the fair, Ruse chef Michael Correll cooks with Chris Morgan and Gerald Addison, whom the organizer describes as the owners and opening chefs of Maydan in Washington. Kentavius Jones plays the music. The same chefs cook the Friday night dinner, November 6, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. with doors at 6. It is a four-course, family-style meal using produce from the hotel's farm, Rolles Range. Tickets are $273.95, and the wine pairing adds $113.89. Both prices include a 20% gratuity.
How the day runs, hour by hour
The two schedules overlap for most of the day and come together at 3 p.m.
- 10 a.m. OysterFest opens. Free event parking is available at St. Michaels Middle/High School, with a free shuttle to the museum. CBMM asks guests to leave non-service dogs at home during its festivals and does not allow carry-on alcohol from the dock or land.
- 11 a.m. The Field & Tide fair opens in the Milk Truck Garage.
- Midday. OysterFest's competitions run during the day. In the oyster stew competition, guests taste entries from area restaurants and vote. Anyone can sign up for the oyster slurp-off on the day. Swamp Donkey plays the historic Tolchester Beach Bandstand, which is one of two stages on campus. Speakers appear in the Van Lennep Auditorium throughout the day, including representatives of the Pocomoke Indian Nation, whose ancestral lands cover much of lower Delmarva.
- 3 p.m. The fair ends and Winnie Estelle's christening begins at CBMM. The ceremony honors her history, the shipwrights who worked on her, the supporters who paid for the work and the vessel's future.
- 4 p.m. OysterFest closes.
The OysterFest skipjack sails aboard Rosie Parks are already sold out. OysterFest's free boat rides are still part of the day.
What comes next on the calendar
After November 7, the season keeps building toward the holidays. Most of the coming dates are at the same museum campus or on Talbot Street.
- Saturday, November 21. CBMM's fifth annual Eastern Shore Sea Glass & Coastal Arts Festival, Holiday Edition runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with more than 60 exhibitors and a 2:30 p.m. narrated cruise.
- Saturday, November 28. Taste of St. Michaels takes place along Talbot Street with 11 participating businesses, including St. Michaels Salt Co., Olive Branch, Ava's Pizzeria & Wine Bar and St. Michaels Winery.
- December 3–6. The St. Michaels Business Association's Winter Fest brings townwide shopping and dining offers.
- December 10–13. Christmas in St. Michaels marks its 40th year. The Talbot Street Parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 12, and the Lighted Boat Parade circles St. Michaels Harbor at 6 p.m. that evening.
On the evening of December 12, entry to CBMM's Winter on the Chesapeake is free after 5 p.m. for anyone who wants to watch the boat parade from the museum grounds. If Winnie Estelle is tied up at the museum by then, she will be on the water that evening too.
St. Michaels has been an oyster town since buyboats like Winnie Estelle worked the river, and our team keeps up with what makes waterfront living here valuable. If you own a home near the Miles River and want to know what it is worth this season, the Sandra K. Libby Group can help. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through what today's buyers are paying for life on the water here.