Get your tickets for annual Oyster Roast

Posted
At 6 p.m. Saturday, the place to be will be the Flowers' Tomato Shed off U.S. 301 near Summerton as the St Matthias Episcopal Church hosts its annual Oyster, Barbecue and Catfish Stew Benefit for the Montessori School. Steaming, hot oysters, good ol' Southern barbecue and John Allen's catfish stew are on the menu along with rice, cole slaw, soup, cold beverages and another Southern staple, banana pudding. In previous years, more than two and three tons of oysters annually have been enjoyed by attendees. "We've had crowds as large as 450 people," said Caroline Herring, who co-directs the event each year with her husband, Johnnie. "But we've never run out of food, no matter how big the crowd it." Flowers donates the use of of his Tomato Shed on an annual basis for the fundraiser. Portable heaters are spaced around the main room to keep everyone comfortably warm, and on the outside there's a huge bonfire perfect for keeping toasty warm and roasting marshmallows. All the proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit St. Matthias' Montessori School, which opened in 2004 as an outreach ministry of the church after members visited a similar school in Bluffton. They were impressed by the "Montessori method," formulated by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early 1900s, which emphasizes the uniqueness of each child, recognizing that children are different from adults in development and thinking. The method regards traditional measurements like grades and tests as negative competition that damages a child's emotional and academic growth while deficiencies in a particular area of study are treated as places to improve rather than failures. The credit for the large attendance at the oyster roast largely goes to Bubba Davis. Davis has been the ticket sales champion for the past six years. Oyster lovers have likely grown accustomed to hearing his voice when their phones ring, they answer and hear him on the line, saying, "I need a check!" Later, Davis' sister Carolina Herring or his brother-in-law, Johnny, drive him around to pick up checks in exchange for oyster roast tickets. Those tickets are $40 per person, and they go quickly. For more information, call (803) 435-4032 or (803) 485-2504.