Galveston Bay Foundation Raises Over $100,000 at Fourth Annual Houston Oyster & SeaFest
- April 09, 2025
- News
HOUSTON (April 5, 2025) – Galveston Bay Foundation’s fourth annual Oyster & SeaFest raised over $110,000 to benefit the nonprofit organization’s habitat restoration program, including its oyster reef restoration and oyster shell recycling efforts. Additionally, 683 pounds of oyster shell was recycled at the festival and will make its way back to the Bay, providing a home to over 41,000 baby oysters.
The oyster and seafood tasting event took place on Saturday, April 5 at Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park and welcomed more than 700 Houston-area foodies and outdoor enthusiasts to kick off Earth Month. Guests enjoyed delicious oyster and seafood dishes, specialty cocktails, live music, yard games, and plenty of family-friendly educational activities. This year, the events hosted both restaurants and oyster farmers who served up creative oyster and seafood-inspired dishes.
These incredible restaurants and oyster farmers truly brought the heat with incredible dishes! BB’s Tex Orleans, Capt. Benny’s, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, DJ’s Oyster Co. by Oyster Bros, Key Allegro Oyster Co., Landry’s Seafood House, Loch Bar, Lone Star Oyster Co., McCormick & Schmick’s, Navy Blue, and Pig and Rooster Craft Oysters.
Key Allegro Oyster Co. won the event’s People’s Choice Award, and Navy Blue won the Judge’s Choice Award. Guests in the VIP area enjoyed a raw oyster bar from Prestige Oysters along with shrimp tacos from Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House, paired with bubbles and cocktails.
While general admission tickets were priced at $35 and $50 and VIP tickets were priced at $175, most of the day’s funds were raised thanks to generous sponsors:
Perry Homes, The Oyster Resource and Recovery Center, JP McGovern Foundation, Pat Hammond, Avera, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, Orsted, Port Houston, Southern Devall, Reliant an NRG Company, Gulf Coast Authority, Thunder Exploration, Sanpellegrino CIAO! Flavored Sparkling Water, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Transocean, LYLO, Arctic Ice, Bloody Revolution, Saint Arnold’s Brewery, Krewe Eyewear, Kendra Scott, Galveston Fishing Co., Whataburger, and Mandito’s.
Funds raised from Saturday’s event support Habitat Restoration work, enabling the organization to continue offering oyster shell recycling services to 39 Houston-area restaurants. In 2024, Galveston Bay Foundation reclaimed 233 tons of oyster shell to return to the Bay. The organization has collected over 2,000 tons since its inception in 2011. Over 285 hours of time were donated by 60+ volunteers who came out to support the event. This effort would not have been possible without them.
“Oysters provide vital ecological benefits to Galveston Bay but have become increasingly threatened. For this reason, Galveston Bay Foundation works to restore oyster habitat by placing oyster shell back in the Bay where it will serve as habitat for new oysters to grow. The 700+ Houstonians who came out to celebrate and enjoy oysters with us on Saturday are directly contributing to this work,” said Bob Stokes, President, Galveston Bay Foundation. “We are so appreciative of the generous restaurants who participated in the event, along with our sponsors and attendees at our 2025 Oyster & SeaFest!”
To learn more about Galveston Bay Foundation, its 2025 Oyster & SeaFest or its Habitat Restoration program, visit galvbay.org or contact Kimberly Meza at kmeza@galvbay.org and 281-923-3278.
Gary Blake and Katie Miller
About Galveston Bay Foundation
Galveston Bay Foundation is a conservation nonprofit that has served as guardian of Galveston Bay since 1987. Our mission is to preserve and enhance Galveston Bay as a healthy and productive place for generations to come. We work to facilitate a true cross-section of Bay interests through creative, inclusive, and forward-thinking solutions to the challenges confronting Galveston Bay. We envision a future Bay that is brimming with vitality, connected to people, and contributing to the community in every possible way
