Hama Hama's Oyster Rama canceled in 2020 due to COVID

When the creative gurus at Hama Hama started the Hama Hama Oyster Rama a decade ago they had no idea how big an idea it was – but organizers are determined to keep the event's intimate, fun, family, party feel – despite its global appeal to the masses.

Hama Hama put out the call for the community – local artists, food vendors, biologists, oyster farmers, friends and neighbors – to participate in a low tide celebration.

The formula was pretty simple. Great music. Fantastic location and views. Amazing food and drink. Awesome people. Oh, and the oysters – they were pretty important too.

“We started the event to get people excited about oyster culture,” said Lissa James Monberg, 4th generation oyster farmer and in charge of Hama Hama’s retail and marketing, “we want people who live in this region to know how to harvest and prepare shellfish, know the history of the industry, and learn about the ecology of the inter-tidal area.” “Plus,” continued Lissa, “we just wanted to have fun on the beach with all our favorite people, and raise money for the local school.”

The 2019 Oyster Rama was the biggest and "boldest" yet, with over 2000 attendees and 320 volunteers. The event raised more than $14,000 for charity, bringing the lifetime Rama fundraising effort to nearly $100k. The biggest beneficiary is the Hood Canal Education Foundation, which supports arts & science education at the local elementary school.

The Rama highlights include tours with inter-tidal ecologists and oyster growers; u-pick gathering; oyster trivia, and an engaging oyster sports competition termed “Shuckathalon.” In 2019 they also included a load of classes and seminars for attendees to "dig deeper" into the shellfish underwater. The team organized a Natural Wine Fair featuring wine samples selected by Olympia Oyster Bar (PDX), Vinnie's Raw Bar (Seattle), Vif (Seattle), and Will Piper (NYC)... paired with bites from Seattle's Navy Strength.

For the second year in a row, Tournant came up from Portland to teach a cooking with fire class they call "iron/fire/brine."

It was truly a locally-sourced meal: Hama Hama's own milled cedar planks for the planked salmon, truffles hunted from the back forty, and local boughs for l'éclade de moules with Penn Cove Mussels. The gang at Hama Hama dug the savory clams from their beach, and harvested kelp from the new kelp farm that bobs gaily in view of the Oyster Saloon. Add all that to great local food and beverage; invite some chefs who know how to showcase the harvest; toss in unique kids' activities like their own band and marine touch tanks – and don’t go light on the music – you’ve got an inter-tidal party to remember.

This April the Hama Hama Oyster Rama was sadly canceled owing to COVID-19. Tickets went on sale in mid-March and then all sorts of crazy happened. There are opportunities to visit the farm year round with COVID safe restaurant reservation system in place throughout the summer. Check out www.hamahama.com for details on this and all the other great things happening here in 2020.