Overview Tampa Oyster Fest is a January afternoon at Tabellas at Delaney Creek where oysters come raw, as shooters, steamed and chargrilled, alongside a low country boil, barbecue and an open bar, and tickets sell out every year. Every ticket is all-inclusive, at one of two levels, Pearl and Diamond. The festival raises money for Frameworks of Tampa Bay, a nonprofit that teaches children emotional intelligence - the skills to handle any emotion, conversation or situation - working with families, teachers and community leaders. The Triad Foundation presented the sixth edition in January 2025 and the seventh in January 2026. On site Pearl guests come in at 1 p.m. to a raw bar and an oyster shooter station, Danzi's low country boil of shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes, Make 'em Squeal BBQ, an open bar with a specialty cocktail tasting, live music and games. Diamond guests get Diamond Hour from noon, a VIP lounge with hors d'oeuvres, champagne, beer and cocktails poured by celebrity bartenders, and a concierge. A Kumamoto table holds eight guests for the whole event. Around the grounds sit a 360-degree photo booth, a wine pull, a bourbon pull, an ice cream stand and a game called Hit It to Win It, and the shells go to oyster recycling. Parking is free. Talent and Influencers The Broken Hearts, a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute, came back to headline in 2026, with the Fil Pate Trio and Carter Smith also on the bill. Behind the Diamond Lounge bar that year were meteorologist Denis Phillips, William "Bar None" Floyd and Ray Roa of Creative Loafing. Track record The festival reached its seventh edition in 2026, and the title sponsorship for that year sold before the event. Part of every Diamond ticket funds the Terri Ellison Teens in Action Scholarship for high school seniors. Brand presence Sponsor levels take their names from oysters: Title, Main Stage and Diamond Lounge at the top, then Blue Point Premium, Ace Blade Select and Olympia. Premium sponsors choose a named piece of the day to carry their brand - the raw bar, the shooter station, the signature cocktail, the cups, koozies or tickets, the main stage or the Diamond Lounge - and select sponsors choose from the photo booth, oyster forks, the wine and bourbon pulls, the barbecue, the ice cream, the water bottles or oyster recycling. Higher levels add print and digital advertising, stage and event signage and naming rights, and every sponsor gets tickets to a sponsor party. Knightcap Events runs marketing and media for the festival.