Once a year, the town of Frederick gives seafood fans a chance to dine on raw or fried oysters.
The Frederick Fantastic Oyster Fry began in 1952, when a man named Bramlett Johnson brought a bucket of oysters from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Manitou, Oklahoma, according to the Frederick Chamber of Commerce’s website.
Johnson fried the oysters and served them to the Manitou school board. That meal prompted the school board to host an annual oyster fry as a fundraiser.
The oyster fry was part of Manitou’s social calendar for 30 years, but it eventually outgrew the town. The Frederick Chamber picked up the event, which has become a Frederick tradition.
This year’s Oyster Fry and Craft Show is set for March 2 at the Prather Brown cafeteria, 211 S. 13th St. in Frederick. The craft show will run from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., and oysters will be served from 3 to 6 p.m.
Advance tickets are $25 apiece, and tickets at the door will cost $30. Patrons who want to buy tickets online should email FrederickCC@pldi. net, and organizers will mail them an invoice.
Tickets will be held at the door for will-call the day of the event.
For more information, call (580) 335-2126.
Crossing the Red River Frederick is located 20 miles north of the Red River, which divides Oklahoma and Texas, according to the Chamber’s website. The day before the Oyster Fry, the event committee sends someone to Texas to pick up the oysters.
“A member of the Oyster Fry Committee drives down to Port Lavaca, TX, and loads two broken-down deep freezers with 140 gallons of freshly caught oysters,” the website said. “The oysters are packed in ice and immediately brought back to Frederick for breading and frying.”
Busloads of oyster fans descend on Frederick for the event, which serves thousands of hungry people each year, according to the website. The recipe for frying the oysters hasn’t changed since the event began in the 1950s.
“Whether fried or raw, there’s plenty to go around,” the website said. “The Frederick Fantastic Oyster Fry has no history of running out of oysters.”