Cost for Lunch & Learn is $25 for Historical Society members and $28 for non-members, which includes the program and lunch buffet format. Buffet includes two entrees, salad, bread, dessert, iced tea, coffee, and gratuity. Lunch & Learn starts promptly at 11:30 am at the Carolina Colours Pavilion, 3300 Waterscape Way, Carolina Colours. Prepaid reservations are required, either online or by calling the New Bern Historical Society at 252-638-8558. Paper tickets are not issued; simply check in at the door with your confirmation.
History of North Carolina's
Oyster Boom
Presented by David Bennett
Curator of Maritime History
NC Maritime Museum
November 12th, 2025 at 11:30am
at Carolina Colours Pavilion
ON SALE NOW!
For generations, North Carolina’s oyster industry was underdeveloped. This changed in the late 19th century when North Carolina oyster beds attracted attention following overharvesting in the Chesapeake Bay and the nation’s insatiable appetite for oysters. By the late 1880s, North Carolina oystermen and fish dealers were benefiting from an expanding oyster industry. The incredible profits that oysters yielded motivated Baltimore and Norfolk capitalists to move their oyster canneries and packhouses to coastal North Carolina. Then what? Join David Bennett as he presents “The History of North Carolina’s Oyster Boom” on Wednesday, November 12 at 11:30am at the Carolina Colours Pavilion at 3300 Waterscape Way.
~ Lunch Menu ~
Tossed Salad w/ dressing on the side
Glazed Meatloaf
Chicken Bruschetta
Baked Potato
Broccoli cheddar casserole
Rolls w/ butter
Sweet tea, Unsweet tea, coffee and water
David Bennett is the Curator of Maritime History for the North Carolina Maritime Museum System, and he oversees the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center in Beaufort. The Center is a working boatbuilding facility that comes alive with the sounds and smells of traditional North Carolina wooden boatbuilding. Bennett is originally from Morehead City, North Carolina. He has a B.A. in History from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.A. in Maritime History from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. His research interests focus on North Carolina's commercial fishing industry as well as traditional workboats.