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here one time, I guarantee it won’t be your last. So the way we look at it is that one year of excellent tourism could translate into another 20 years for us. I love to see the same couples, the same families return year after year – and more often than not they have friends in tow with them. Word of mouth advertising has been very good to us. Blue Rodeo actually stayed at my house one year. They were actually staying in a cottage we got for them down on the water but they wanted the ultimate view of the parade – we have one of the greatest community parades you’ll ever see. Well, we’re on the parade route and they ended up staying for the day. We jammed out back with them and it was really something I’ll always remember. My all-time favourite memory from the Oyster Festival has got to be back in 2014. I’m an oyster shuck myself and that year we put together a Team Canada and broke the Guinness World Record for the most oysters shucked in one hour. There were ten of us, one representing each province, and we beat the previous record held by a team from France. The Guinness people flew in from Dublin to monitor it all. We shucked 8,840 oysters in one hour. I have the Guinness World Record hanging on my wall and my picture is on page seven of the Guinness Book of Records – it’s pretty cool. I encourage people to visit tvoysterfest.ca and check out our videos on YouTube to get a feel for the whole experi- ence, but like I said, you have to be here to get it.
We partner with so many businesses like Moosehead Brewery, Scotiabank, and Dennis Motors and Yamaha. Dennis Motors is going to have a VIP area setup this year. They loan us four-wheelers and side-by-sides as well, which helps us get the job done. Our sponsors help us with more than just money – and don’t get me wrong, we couldn’t do this without cash flow – they also help us with the whole setup by sending us workers and things like that. It’s a total community effort. Can you tell the readers about the accommodations and transportation in Tyne Valley for the event? When most people come to PEI they often only go to Cav- endish or Charlottetown or Summerside. I want that demo- graphic to know that there’s even more to the Island. When you travel out into the Island you’re going to meet Islanders who’ve worked their whole lives on the water, the kind of people who will take you in for supper. We’re hospitable and that translates into everything we do. We’re the least expensive festival you’re going to find on the Island and we go the extra mile with local accommodations. We’ve teamed up with the Mill River Resort to offer The Mill River Resort Experience which includes two nights accommo- dation, one ticket to the Oyster Shucking Championship, one general admission to the Musicfest, discounted green fees at Mill River Golf Course, and breakfast both mornings. We’ve also partnered with Wedge Tours again to provide transportation to the event grounds from nearby Sum- merside. Pricing for everything is available at the website, tvoysterfest.ca. There are also campsites available in the area like inside Green Park but they’re not directly affiliated with the Festival. What’s the atmosphere of the whole five-day Oyster Festival like? The concert is awesome – incredible, actually and I love it – it’s more or less been my work the last four years. But my favourite night of the year by far is the Canadian Oyster Shucking Championship. You’ll never see another event like it. People are so pas- sionate about it – we have almost 1,500 people jam-packed into the local sports centre. We always have expert step dancers dancing to East Coast fiddle music and all you can eat oysters once you’re inside. And there’s a bonfire outside – it’s such an amazing experience. You have to be there to know just how fun it is! And with Canada 150 this summer, I’m sure we’re going to see a surge in tourism in Tyne Valley. We usually see in the ballpark of a 90 percent return rate of guests to the Oyster Fest and that includes people who only found out about through local advertising after they come off the bridge or the ferry – that’s how awesome this event is. If you come
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JUNE 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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