JACKSON – The Tenth Annual Last Saturday Oyster Roast will be held from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. January 31 at Boone Farm Supply in Jackson.

Tickets are $25 each for all the steamed oysters you can eat. There will also be steamed shrimp and trout available.

Tickets are being sold in advance and the cut off date is January 24.

To purchase tickets, contact Stevie Harrell at (nights) 252-534-8911 or (days) 252-578-1754; Jack Boseman (Boseman Insurance in Roanoke Rapids) at 252-537-8338; Boone Farm Supply at 252-534-2504; or Teresa Jenkins (Centura Bank in Ahoskie – days) 252-209-5009 or (nights) 252-587-3560.

Coolers are welcome, but please have identification available at the gate. Anyone entering with a cooler will be carded.

&uot;This has become a very successful fund raiser for Northeast Academy,&uot; said Stevie Harrell, a spokesperson for the event.

&uot;In some ways it seems a lot longer than 10 years ago this idea was made a reality, and in other ways it’s hard to believe it’s been going on that long,&uot; Harrell said.

&uot;When this idea came about, we thought long and hard about a unique event that wasn’t being held in the area. With so many various food related fund raisers being held during the warmer months, we began looking for something we could do at a time of year when there was really nothing else going on.

&uot;That’s when the thought of doing the oyster roast came about and what better time of year to eat oysters than the dead of winter. And, it’s been a winning combination since,&uot; Harrell said.

&uot;There’s a lot of work that goes into the event, much more than many realize, but we have some really dedicated people who go out of their way to help make this a success. It couldn’t be done by one or two people, it takes us all to pull this off,&uot; he said.

Harrell said the group started out with a small amount of tickets and worked their way to the current number, saying their goal was never to get too large to be able to keep the event under control.

&uot;We’ve tried to keep the ticket sales at something we can handle, both in crowd size and from a food stand point. There’s no need to create a crowd so big that we can’t handle them and that’s why tickets go fast,&uot; he added.

&uot;We normally sell out of tickets and that is why we really try to push the advance ticket date which is Jan. 24 this year. We have so many people wait until the last minute and we just can’t accommodate the food if we wait that long to place our orders.

&uot;The event, as it has been since we started, is rain or shine,&uot; Harrell said. &uot;It will once again be held at Boone Farm Supply on US 158 on the east end of Jackson near the NC 305 turn off toward Rich Square.

The only year the event has not been held in Jackson was in 2000, the winter after Hurricane Floyd came through the area.

&uot;We held the event at the Lion’s Club building in Seaboard for one year,&uot; Harrell said. &uot;It just so happened that on that particular day there was about nine inches of snow on the ground. That still didn’t keep people away.&uot;

As Harrell pointed out, tickets have always sold well for the event and he looks for another sell-out in 2004.

&uot;We anticipate another sell-out crowd so my advice is get your tickets early. Anyone wanting more information can call me at 252-578-1754 or the office at Boone Farm Supply at 252-534-2504,&uot; he added.

Oyster knives will be available for rent and music will be provided for your listening and/or dancing pleasure.