SPAT and OysterFest Announce First-Ever Memberships!
To celebrate its 22nd anniversary and the long-awaited restart of Wellfleet OysterFest, SPAT is offering oyster lovers its first-ever membership opportunities to support the area’s vibrant shellfishing community, its hard-working shellfish farmers, and to maintain the world-renowned celebrity of the Wellfleet oyster. “As we enter a new era for SPAT and OysterFest, I can think of no better way to honor our nonprofit and its mission of continuing to preserve, protect, and promote Wellfleet’s shellfishing community. With these new memberships, we hope to pass the $1 million threshold in SPAT’s work by the end of the year. This work includes college scholarships to local students, support for the marine environment, and most recently, more than $100,000 in direct donations to local shellfishing families and food pantries during the recent Covid pandemic,” said SPAT’s board chair Nancy O’Connell.
Two Membership Tiers Are Offered:
Dr. David Belding Society Membership
The Belding Society membership honors the aquaculture contributions and marine research of Cape Cod’s first marine biologist, who, over a career in Wellfleet spanning 60 years, provided invaluable advice to local shellfishermen and administrators, laying the foundation for the modern oyster and clam aquaculture industry. 100 Founding Memberships at $500 a year are being offered, together with unique opportunities to participate in SPAT and OysterFest’s year-round social and entertainment activities. Benefits of Belding Society membership include a pair of tickets to OysterFest and its many exciting (and expanded!) programs, including free shellfish farm tours and OysterFest Art & Crawl tickets.
Belding Society Membership will also include:
—Two tickets to an “Art and Oyster Crawl” of your choice
—A private tour of a Wellfleet shellfish farm for your family and friends
—Access to exclusive private events every year
—2 pieces of SPAT merchandise
—Presale ticket purchasing opportunity for all SPAT/OysterFest events
–Continuing membership at the Founding Member level
Olympic Gold Membership
This $150 annual Olympic Gold membership tier honors the now-famous role of the Wellfleet oyster in the amateur U.S. Men’s Hockey Team’s “Miracle on Ice” victory at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics over Russia’s feared and infamous professional Red Army Team. When U.S. team members began eating the Wellfleet oysters brought to Lake Placid by lifelong local oysterman (and Shuck-Off Champion) Paul Suggs, the team began winning. According to legend the entire team ate his Wellfleets before the gold medal game and the rest, of course, is history.
Olympic Gold benefits include:
—Two tickets to Wellfleet OysterFest
—A Wellfleet SPAT Souvenir Cup
—Presale ticket purchasing opportunity for all SPAT/OysterFest events