Ponce City Market is teaming up with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant and Georgia Aquarium to host the first annual PCM Oyster Social on Thursday, March 28 in support of Georgia’s oyster industry. Held on The Roof at Ponce City Market from 6-9pm, the event will feature oyster tastings from local restaurants including The Optimist, W.H. Stiles Fish Camp, Brezza Cucina and Root Baking Co., live music from Sweet Auburn String Band, specially crafted cocktails, beer from Georgia Aquarium’s collaboration with Atlanta Brewing Company, live painting by local artists and more.
Shifting Baselines, a short film by Cathy J. Sakas and Mehmet Caglayan, will give guests a deeper glimpse into the commercial fishing industry in the state of Georgia, and educators from Georgia Aquarium and UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant will be present to discuss how important oysters are to maintaining healthy coastal environments. Guests will also be able to learn how to shuck their own oyster while connecting with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant employees who are working with shellfish growers to grow and farm local Georgia oysters for the restaurant industry. André Gallant, a writer, editor and photojournalist based in Athens, will be present to sign books and discuss the local oyster community. He is the author of “The High Low Tide,” a book-length work of narrative nonfiction about the Georgia oyster industry published by UGA Press in 2019.