Annual Lobster Fest—

2,000 Lobsters Invade Sandy Hook For Fundraiser

By Kaaren Valenta

Balancing a lobster-laden tray, Justine Sumple navigated the crowd at the Sandy Hook Firehouse last Friday night, looking for an empty spot at a table for her children Jake, 4, and Kalie, 6, and their friend, Chelsea Piccarillo, 5.

“When we go through the line [the servers] always ask if the kids want hot dogs, but we all eat lobster,” Mrs Sumple said.

So many lobster lovers came to the 17th annual Lobster Fest this year that co-organizer B.J. Halstead said more than 2,000 crustaceans were served.

“We ran out of lobster Saturday night and had to get more. We had to get more clams, too,” he said.

About 3,000 people attended this year’s two-night event, about 700 more than last year.

“We did a lot better than last year, when it rained,” Mr Halstead said. “Besides the lobster, we also served 600 to 700 pounds of steak, 65 cases of corn, 600 pounds of potato salad, and 12 bushels of clams.”

Dominick Posca, building and grounds supervisor for the local school district, was one of the diners that opted for steak. Not that he doesn’t like lobster. “I had lobster yesterday,” he explained.

Both evenings diners started lining up well before the 5 pm advertised start. And they kept coming.

“We were still serving at 9:30 pm on Friday and at a quarter to 10 on Saturday. We didn’t turn anyone away,” Mr Halstead said.

This was the fifth year that B.J. Halstead and Anthony Capozzeillo co-chaired the event. And each year B.J.’s father, Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead, makes all the clam chowder for the event.

“It’s a family tradition,” B.J. said.