Thousands of beachgoers soaked up the sun and slurped down oysters at the first Long Island Oyster Jamboree at Smith Point County Park in Shirley on Saturday.

Once nearly wiped from Long Island waters, oysters took center stage at the festival, organized by Suffolk County to promote local shellfish farmers.

“This is the fun part, because we have the opportunity to see people enjoying our product that we put so much time, energy and love into growing,” Southold Town Trustee Elizabeth Peeples said, while twisting a shucking knife into the hinge of an oyster from the Little Ram Oyster Co.

Peeples runs the 10-acre farm in Southold with her wife, Stefanie Bassett, as part of the county’s aquaculture program, which leases underwater land in the Peconic and Gardiners bays to shellfish farm

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