SALISBURY — The Trolley Barn was awash in a seafood frenzy on Saturday, as supporters of Waterworks Visual Arts Center shucked oysters and soaked up the experience.

For one woman from Southport, the trip might have seemed logically backwards, after all she traveled almost 250 miles from the ocean to the Piedmont for seafood. 

“Even though I live at the coast (now), I come back here to the oyster roast,” said Mandy Mills. “I have been giving (my co-workers) a hard time about it all week, leaving the coast to go inland for an oyster roast.”

Back home, Mills works in education, as the special populations coordinator at Ashley High School in Wilmington.

Mills attended the event with several family members, including her mother Cyndi Osterhus who lives in Rowan County. 

“We have come to this event before,” Mills said. 

On Saturday, when she was having her oysters, Mills did not bother with horseradish, cocktail sauce or lemon juice. 

“Just hot sauce for me,” Mills said.

However, that diverges slightly from her normal routine. 

“When I (cook) them at home, we roast them and then I dip them in hot vinegar,” Mills said. 

Meanwhile, Osterhus prefers to go a different route. 

“I like them steamed, but well done steamed,” Osterhus said. 

Among the attendees was Matthew Marsh, owner of The Forum of Salisbury. 

“Waterworks does an amazing job with all of their fundraisers,” Marsh said. “Having great food, dancing and fun for a great cause is a win in my books.”

For Marsh, it’s as much about contributing to the art center’s cause as it is getting a good meal. 

“I always enjoy supporting Waterworks and their mission,” Marsh said. 

Waterworks Executive Director Anne Scott Clement reported on Wednesday that the event was a sellout crowd with 350 visitors attending. She indicated that the event also netted more than $25,000 to fund the art center’s operations.

Clement expressed gratitude about being able to facilitate the art center’s annual oyster roast. 

“There is something for everyone to enjoy,” Clement said. “Waterworks was excited to welcome back the Washington Crab Company, who travel seven hours, round trip, from Little Washington to steam fresh oysters and shrimp on site.”

It was not just seafood on the menu though.  

“One of our hometown favorites, College Barbecue, again provided their famous pit-cooked barbecue sliders,” Clement said. 

Then, for dessert, guests enjoyed a selection of sweet provisions from Cold Stone Creamery. Beer and other beverages were sponsored by United Beverage of North Carolina and Cheerwine. 

Something new this year was a bourbon bar tasting and raffle. 

“It was a great hit,” Clement said. “Guests purchasing one or more raffle tickets had a chance to taste up to six of nine different bourbons.”

Mayor Karen Alexander assisted in pulling the raffle winners and six lucky winners went home with a bottle of top-shelf bourbon. 

Clement added that it could not be done without the community sponsors. 

“On behalf of my Board and Staff, a big Waterworks’ thank you to all our sponsors, donors, volunteers and guests for their significant contributions to continue to make this event such a great success,” Clement said. “We appreciate the opportunity to celebrate Waterworks as an important community resource and the generous support we receive to sustain the extraordinary educational and outreach opportunities Waterworks provides our local and regional communities.”

Sponsors

Presenting Pearls:

Suzanne Casey, F&M Bank, KMD Construction, SALCOA Contracting, and Salisbury Post

Shuckers:

Fisher Realty, Inc., Griffin Marketing Group, Secure Solutions Technology, and United Beverage of NC

Oysters:

Central Carolina Insurance Agency, College Barbecue, Bethany and Don Fortner, Erik and Katie Lipscomb, Lucas, and Debbie Lucas and Rick Lewis

Rakers: 

Cheerwine, Cold Stone Creamery, Lynn and Paul Weisler, and The Lettered Lily

Additional support:

Donny Clement, Tim Coffey Photography, Taylor and Brad Durham, Shari and Bill Graham, Ed Hull, David Lucas, Greg Shields and Caroline and Russ Weiker

“We also want to thank a special group that we call the Waterworks Visionaries who support the Waterworks programs all year long,” Clement said. 

Visionaries include: 

F&M Bank, Susan and Edward Norvell, David Post, Debbie Lucas and Rick Lewis, SALCOA Contracting, Marianna and David Swaim and Anderson Dental Group