Announcement: We have a winner of our Jax Fish House High West Oyster Fest contest. Congrats to kayodo, who guessed 10,887 oysters. The correct number is 11,932. (Sorry, CRGWKM, but as I said, if you don't leave an e-mail address, you can't win.) Kayodo, we'll send you can e-mail about how you can claim your prize.
At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, the Boulder Theater will be swimming in oysters -- and you've got the Boulder branch of Jax Fish House to thank for all those bivalves. The aquatic-centric restaurant is hosting its first High West Oyster Fest, which includes an oyster-eating contest, an oyster-shucking battle featuring fast shuckers from across the country, pours of Odell Emersum oyster stout, live music and all the briny oysters you can slide past your lips.
See also: - Jax in LoDo reopens with a new look...and a new menu - A fourth Jax Fish House will open in Glendale next spring - Ian Clark, chef of Jax Boulder, is leaving to open BRU Handbuilt Ales and Eats
Every year, since 1997, Jax has dedicated the month of March to oyster madness, but while stuffing oysters down your gullet is always part of the festivities, there are bigger fish to fry in the name of charity. The staff at all three Jax locations work to raise funds for -- and awareness of -- a designated charitable partner, in this case, Veteran's Expeditions, a Colorado-based nonprofit that uses wilderness challenges to connect veterans, build camaraderie and raise awareness. "In much the same way an oyster's primary livelihood is the betterment of its surrounding through the selfless act of filtering water in its ecosystem, the crew at Jax annually focuses every effort toward raising funds to support the good work being done by charitable organizations in our community," says Iva Townsend, director of sales and marketing for Big Red F, the restaurant group that owns Jax.
You can do your part, too, by purchasing a ticket to the High West Oyster Fest. General admission tickets are $29.50 each, and can bought online at bouldertheater.com. Or...you can win two tickets right here, since we're giving one Cafe Society reader and a guest the opportunity to go to the event for free. But in order to get in on the swim, you need to answer this question: How many oysters were shucked at Jax Boulder during the month of February?
The person who comes the closest to the actual number without going over, will win. To enter, please leave your best guess, a valid e-mail address (no e-mail address means you're NOT eligible) and your name in the comments section below. And people, if you're not available on April 2 -- the night of the event -- please don't enter.
We'll announce the winner before 6 p.m. today.
