In its second year back post-pandemic, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue members boiled and steamed their way to a successful two-night Lobsterfest June 9 and 10.

Folks hungry for what the fire company was serving up began arriving and queuing up for tickets or food service even before the official opening time both nights, while others reserved seats at one of the many tables, grabbed a beverage, hit up the raw bar, or just hung out and socialized.

Offered at Lobsterfest for the first time, young visitors converged on an inflatable bounce house set up out front next to a row of the company’s fire apparatus, temporarily relocated to open up the maximum amount of space for guests in the headquarters’ bays and under tented shelter extending out to Riverside Road.

While visitors chatted and feasted away, live music was provided by local musicians — with somewhat quieter material offered for early birds, and louder energizing dance and party music carrying the crowd to closing time

When all was said and done, thousands of happy patrons had been served more than 1,800 lobsters, 700 pounds of steak, countless burgers, dozens of bushels of clams, hundreds of cupcakes and ice cream desserts, gallons of chowder, and multiple tractor loads of fresh corn on the cob.

Anyone planning in advance can mark their calendars for the 2024 SHVFR Lobsterfest, which is scheduled to happen on June 10 and 11.