Thousands gather for Narooma Oyster Festival

Organisers of the Narooma Oyster Festival on the New South Wales far south coast say the level of interest is on the rise.

Thousands of people gathered at the weekend for the fifth annual event.

The Festival offered locally grown produce, cooking demonstrations, and celebrity chefs.

The President of the town's Chamber of Commerce, Matt Deveson, says it is starting to attract interest from outside the region.

"We sold a lot of oysters, probably almost 1000 dozen," he said.

"We had 4500 people there and everybody had a great time.

"The gate numbers would be up, which is just a testament to the Festival and how it's becoming more and more popular."

Mr Deveson says the volunteer involvement was a standout.

"Volunteerism is a huge component of this Festival as it would be with other festivals, but we're not a huge town," he said.

"Everybody pitches in, and it's a great way of delivering a good tourism boom to an economy that's usually quiet at this time of year."

For more, go to the South East News Blog.

 
 
Source: ABC News, 7 May 2012