By Olivia Sugg, Staff Writer
For the past 18 years, thousands of people have attended First Flight Rotary Club’s “Oink and Oyster Roast,” gathering under giant tents for a massive meal, while enjoying music from First Flight High School band students.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s event is still taking place – but it will look, smell, and taste a little bit different. This Oink & Rooster Roast will be drive-through only, with oysters being replaced with chicken.
“Oysters don’t travel well. When folks want to eat oysters, they want to eat them right away,” said Jay Taylor, president of the First Flight Rotary Club. “That’s how we have it at our normal event: We steam them and they literally go from the steamer to your plate in two minutes.”
This year’s Oink and Rooster Roast will be held on Saturday (Oct. 10) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Longboard’s Island Grill parking lot next to the Kitty Hawk post office. Orders must be placed ahead of time by visiting the Oink & Rooster Roast website at this link. Each meal is big enough for two and includes two sides (slaw and beans) plus the Rotary Club’s “world-famous freshly made hush puppies.” Diners can choose between the homemade pulled pork meal and the slow-roasted chicken meal (each $20) or get two quarts of pulled pork for $30. Online payments can be made at the website, although anyone who has trouble ordering or wants to pay by cash or check can email [email protected] for an order form.
This annual event will benefit the Beach Food Pantry, FFHS band, and other local community groups.
“Rotary is a service organization,” Taylor said. “We help the community and that’s our main goal.”
The Rotary Club has helped with a little bit of everything, from donating to local organizations and helping with storm response in the area to going on mission trips and helping with large-scale projects on the international level.
“One of Rotary’s biggest challenges and projects is helping eradicate polio,” Taylor said. “Rotary has been doing that for about 35 years now. When they started, there were about 300,000 cases of polio a year. We’ve got that number knocked down to typically less than 100.”
The Oink and Oyster Roast was started so the First Flight Rotary Club could help the local community. Having this fundraiser every year has allowed the club to better help this area and do things like set up a scholarship for local students.
This year’s primary beneficiary – the Beach Food Pantry – has been extremely busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the money will be put to good use.
“The Beach Food Pantry has been great,” Taylor said. “I think during the first month of the shutdowns for the coronavirus, they ran through more food than they did the entire year before. Their need has gone up a lot.”
Some of the proceeds also will go to the band. In years past, band members sold tickets before the event, helped prepare and serve food as well as clean up, and also performed for the guests.
“The band is not allowed to participate in fundraisers by the school right now,” said Meredith Guns, president of the Fine Arts Boosters Club. “But the Rotary Club has been incredibly kind and still is listing us as one of the beneficiaries of the event. It’s really great because we can’t do any of our fundraisers this year and it’s been a little difficult.”
Sophomore Olivia Sugg can be reached at [email protected].
