2021 S.P.A.T. Auction

We wills still be adding a few items as we hear from more donors. So check back.

A huge thank you to all the wonderful individuals and businesses who donated so generously to the 2021 S.P.A.T auction. It is not the size of the donation but the number of donations that shows how supportive the lower cape community is.

The annual Wellfleet OysterFest is the primary promotional and fundraising event for Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting (S.P.A.T.). This year would have been the event's 21st anniversary and we didn't want to miss a chance to celebrate this significant milestone.

In lieu of the live 'Fest, S.P.A.T. is planning a week of activities called Wellfleet Oyster Week. See events on the Wellfleet S.P.A.T website https://wellfleetspat.org/wellfleet-oyster-week

Proceeds from the auction and the Art & Oyster Crawl will help S.P.A.T. continue its mission to preserve, protect and promote Wellfleet's shellfish framers and wild harvesters.

This auction runs from September 29 to October 13, 2021.

Wellfleet Shellfish Promotion and Tasting, S.P.A.T., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was chartered in 2002, the year after the first Wellfleet OysterFest®. The OysterFest began as an impromptu event to celebrate the Wellfleet Oyster and the town's shellfishing legacy and grew to become the premiere fall festival in the region. The event has been wildly successful attracting an average of 23,000 visitors to the Cape during the shoulder season. Sadly the 2020 & 2021 OysterFests were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Proceeds from the 'Fest and other fundraising activities enable S.P.A.T. to fulfill its mission of preserving, protecting and promoting the region's shellfishing and aquaculture industries. S.P.A.T. achieves this through its college scholarship program, community grant awards and other industry related initiatives.

S.P.A.T. fulfills its mission through its college scholarship program, community grant awards and other industry related initiatives. To date over three quarters of a million dollars has been reinvested back into the community. A few examples include:

$155,000 has been awarded to graduating Nauset Regional High School students who are going to college and are interested in a marine sciences career.
$125,000 given to Aquaculture Research Corporation A.R.C. Hatchery in Dennis for the rebuild of the facility.
$100,000 has been committed to a marketing campaign to differentiate Wellfleet Oysters from other oyster brands, to promote Wellfleet’s unique growing region and connect consumers with the shellfish
harvesters and where their food is coming from.
$92,400 was directed toward emergency pandemic relief efforts during the spring of 2020 to support our shellfishing families at their time of need. Local shellfishing families are still able to access S.P.A.T. funds to help through the Lower Cape Outreach Council.
Community Support
$34,350 to support a Coastal Ecology of Wellfleet Harbor program taught by the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary for 4th &5th graders at Wellfleet Elementary School
$30,000 has been donated to the Wellfleet Shellfish Department in support of the town’s invigorated recreational shellfishing and propagation programs.
$23,000 in the Shellfisherman’s Relief Fund to support 23 families impacted by the shellfish bed closures. About $8,000 was raised in donations and S.P.A.T contributed an additional $15,000.
$10,000 has been donated towards the Wellfleet Harbor dredging fund
$829 to support the Wellfleet Elementary School’s effort to eliminate plastics. S.P.A.T donated 200 WOF metal cups and also a stipend to purchase metal portion cups and ramekins.
$600 from a shellfish event at the Wellfleet Council on Aging for a new sign for the beloved weekly luncheon at Maryann’s Café at the Wellfleet COA.
$433 to support the 246 Kitchen. S.P.A.T. donated150 metal WOF cups for the weekly supper.

To learn more visit wellfleetspat.org.