TEAM

Charleston Oyster Week would not have come to be without the vision and hustle of the two guys! Casey Davidson is the Founder of Toadfish Outfitters & Toadfish Conservation Coalition. Kevin Joseph is the Founder of Empire Oyster & Creator of “Oyster Week”. Kev & Casey share the same mission: “Protect, Preserve and Restore Oyster Habitat, everywhere! “ Friends and collaborators since 2017, they hope that you’ll join the at all the Charleston Oyster Week events and help to spread the word and the message.

Kevin Joseph founded NY Oyster Week in 2012 and a mission was born. He and his team produced NYOW annually from 2012-2019 but COVID forced a pause in the streak. Meanwhile, life and his mission brought Kevin to Charleston where he owns and operates Raw Lab. And so the door was opened for the 1st annual Charleston Oyster Week. Look for other productions in CHS from his team including Jingle Shells (Dec, 2022) and MARSH MADNESS (March 2023). “An oyster week is a ‘Rising Tide that floats all boats’. It is designed to benefit all of those who are part of the oyster’s social and economic ecosystem: Consumers, Growers, Chefs, Shuckers, Scientists, Distributors. We all love and need oysters to thrive. I do this to build value in oysters and a new appreciation for them.” Get to know Kevin further HERE

Rachel Propst & Kelley Andrews-Edwards founded Charleston Oyster Tables in 2022 and have been getting ready to launch their website and sell their product nationwide. They’re doing to the oyster table what YETI did to the cooler. Their tables are beautiful, durable, bespoke and versatile. Out with the old “plywood & saw horse” oyster roast / low country boil tables and in with the table you’ll pass on to your grandchildren. Follow them on Instragram @CharlestonOysterTables.

Kat Wawner is the founder and CEO of Wawner Strategies, an integrated communications agency based in Charleston, SC. Kat has 15 years of global award-winning experience building marketing, PR, brand, and advertising strategies that drive business imperatives surrounding economic growth, market entry, and category superiority. She is a proven leader of motivated internal and client teams spanning a broad portfolio of FMCG, hospitality, alcohol, technology, healthcare, and government. 

A DC-native, Kat has extensive experience leading big campaigns with audacious goals. Her prior work has been on behalf of global, Fortune 50 businesses. Prior to starting Wawner Strategies, Kat spent over a decade in the DC market agency-side leading large accounts and working across organizational disciplines to meet business goals through integrated communications.

BENEFISHIARIES

AGENCY OF RECORD

Wawner Strategies

EVENTS

Sun, Nov 6 - SHELLEBRATION @ Bowen’s Island

Fri, Nov 11, OystoberFEST @ Private Estate @ Mount Pleasant

Tues, Nov 15, SHUCKEASY @ Raw Lab, Downtown Charleston

Fri, Nov 18 - INTERNATIONAL OYSTER DAY @ Wild Dunes Resort @ Isle of Palms

BeneFISHiary: Toadfish Conservation Coalition

SHOW & SHELL

• For Restaurants, Raw Bars & Elite Oyster Destinations

• Feature you elite oyster & wine, beer & cocktail pairings

• Showcase you contributions to oyster shell recycling and habitat restoration

• Tell YOUR OyStories

• Promote your Shuckers, Space, Experience, Location…etc

Show & Shell is an opportunity to do the OPPOSITE of the typical “Restaurant Week” offering. Instead of featuring a deal or offering a discount, this is an opportunity to showcase an ultra-premium offering and / or pairing at a premium. Perhaps a fully dressed oyster or a pairing with a fine champagne, or both. Maybe a cooked oyster presentation with a really nice Muscadet? Its up to you. SHOW OFF a little.

We invented “OYSTER WEEK” as a curated collection of oyster-centric EVENTS paired with a SHOW & SHELL program (in-store / on-premise features) designed to celebrate the history, culture, cuisine, economy and ecology of oysters. And we’ve been presenting this model in New York and Miami since 2012. Our goal is to be a rising tide for all those who are a part of the oyster’s natural and commercial eco-systems. Constituents include Growers, Distributors, Shuckers, Chefs, Restauranteurs, Caterers, Scientists, Restorationists, Influcencers, Authors, Evangelists…etc.