FULTON, Texas — For more than 40 years, the Fulton Volunteer Fire Department has hosted Fulton Oysterfest. The department relies heavily on the funds raised from the festival.
“The Fulton Fire Department really depends on the Oysterfest,” said Fulton VFD chief Jackie Mundine. “Oysterfest is probably about a quarter of our budget.”
A lot of the proceeds fund new equipment for the department, and have since it started.
“The very first oyster festival we had 43 years ago. The goal was to buy the jaws of life, because there were not any in Aransas County,” said Russel Cole, the vice president of the Fulton Oysterfest Committee.
Because of Oysterfest, Fulton VFD has a lot of equipment other volunteer departments, and even some bigger departments, don’t have.
“We have equipment that big paid fire departments would love to have, and it’s all due to Fulton Oysterfest,” Cole said.
About nine years ago, Fulton VFD moved into a new station. A couple of years prior to that, the department purchased an engine that cost more than $600,000. More recently, the department got a new brush truck.
“Oysterfest paid for most, if not all, of that,” Mundine said.
The event is held at Fulton Harbor Park, and runs through Sunday. Festival grounds will be open Thursday from 5-10 p.m., Friday 5-11 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
