For the life of me I cannot remember when my love affair with oysters began. But begin, it did.

I’ve always been a bit of a purist when it comes to shellfish; without spices, butter, wine (for cooking that is!) … Anyway, oysters satisfy my soul as no other shellfish can because it tastes like the sea. Crisp, cold, salt, softly textured … someone catch me – I’m about to swoon!

In “The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating in North America,” Rowan Jacobsen stated it best: “Oysters taste like the sea. No other food does … the comparison for oysters is not the taste of another food but always a place. And a place – the seacoast – for which many of us have romantic associations. From oysters I learned that what’s important about good food is not just what it gives you, but where it can take you.” Commence with swooning …

For me, enjoying oysters is akin to movin’ to the blues in that “where it can take you” kind of way … In mid-August 2014, I was fortunate enough to attend the third annual of Ralph Smith’s decadent oyster events, at Mine Oyster with Jacobsen taste-testing and doing a bit of oyster-speak. Thousands upon thousands of oysters were consumed – lucky us! – throughout seven courses, including dessert – all with the best white wine, sake or beer pairing. (Insert eye roll here – I have).

And while there hasn’t been an oyster event of that magnitude at Mine Oyster the past few years, the first Damariscotta Oyster Celebration, with events in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, is coming up Thursday, June 14 through Saturday, June 16. The kickoff, signature event, the International Oyster Chef of the Year competition is being held at Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort (the major sponsor of the 3-day event). Seven national and international chefs will be competing. Each chef will be paired with one of the seven oyster farmers – Glidden Point, Otter Cove, Pemaquid, Dodge Cove, Johns River, Mook Sea Farm and Norumbega – and will use that farm’s delectable morsels in one of their recipes. This is a ticketed event – $90 p.p. – that includes wine, beer and spirits.

The Can-Am Shuck Star Competition & Oyster Party will feature top restaurant shuckers – yes, Ralph has entered this one – over on Courtyard Street from 2 to 8 p.m. and includes music by the Jason Spooner Band.

Boothbay Harbor region restaurants servin’ up fine local oysters during this weekend celebration, specifically Glidden Points, are Boat House Bistro, Linekin Bay Resort and Mine Oyster (naturally!) and on Southport: Newagen Seaside Inn and Robinson’s Wharf. For a complete list of events, visit www.damariscottaoyster.com

Whatever you do, don’t forget to treat yourself to an oyster, or three ... or more  … and be mindful while you do so.  Pay attention to the way the shell feels in your hand, the way the oyster glistens, the scent of salt as you raise it to your lips, and, finally, the sweet, cold, taste of the sea,  the feel of the soft yielding oyster itself in your mouth ... As Hemingway described the experience, “ … as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

Oysters have a tendency to make you feel content. Indulged. Happy.

I’m also quite fond of the romantic way Jacobsen writes about the oyster, so I leave with you with his words about eating oysters paired with Perrier, rather than spirits … “You taste the oyster, wet rocks at low tide, then the Perrier, a stream burbling over river stones. You’re back in the tidepools where life began.”

Oysters. The primal experience.