SAN ANTONIO — Fiesta Oyster Bake is back, taking over the campus of St. Mary's University.
100,000 oysters and 32,000 chicken on a sticks will be ready for 70,000 guests, made with love by 7,000 volunteers.
More than 35 bands will rock the stages Friday and Saturday.
One of the biggest events and known as "the heartbeat of Fiesta," Oyster bake is returning for its 108th year.
100% of the proceeds from Oyster Bake go directly back to the students of St. Mary's University.
As Oyster Bake 2024 began, construction could be seen on the Math and Engineering building at St. Mary's. It's a welcome expansion, made possible by the funds raised at this beloved Fiesta event.
"It's the best party in town!" said Lupe Salazar, a first-time volunteer at Oyster Bake, joined by her husband Salvador.
You better bring your appetite! 100,000 oysters will be shucked, sauced, and enjoyed Friday and Saturday.
Each oyster is cooked to perfection in about 10 minutes.
Salvador, a helper around the oyster pit, explained the art of perfecting each one.
"When they're really starting to get baked really well, we push them back a little bit so they stay warm. Then a little further up, then they go into the buckets. That's where [my wife] comes in."
"Then I'll be the runner and I'll take it up to the customers," Lupe explained.
What's the best way to eat an oyster at Fiesta? Pitmaster John, an expert, showed KENS 5.
He put the oyster on a saltine, added lemon juice, cocktail sauce and Tabasco to taste.
Each customer will get these fixins. The bottle of Tabasco is small enough to keep in your pocket.
What many may consider the "holy grail" of Fiesta, the chicken-on-a-stick booth had customers in line before Oyster Bake even started.
This chicken-on-astick season, we found one booth that discovered a game-changer when they ran out of a key ingredient.
"Eight years ago, we needed a way to spice the chicken up. So somebody asked if we could dip it into the jalapeño juice and we've been doing that ever since," said Ben Pena, who's helped run the chicken-on-a-stick booth with his family members for 20 years.
Roughly 40 volunteers worked the chicken-on-a-stick booth Friday. Seventy-five volunteers will roll up their sleeves Saturday to keep up with even higher demand.
At Pena's booth alone, they're expecting to sell more than 30,000 chicken-on-a-sticks.
In case you're wondering how the oysters took center stage, organizers say that in 1916, board members at the university had a meeting. Somebody brought oysters and beer to that meeting, and the idea stuck.
Oyster Bake continues Saturday for its final day, beginning at noon and running through 11 p.m.
