The oyster stage at Skibbroen

Saturday, 21st March - Ribe Oyster Festival

At Skibbroen, you’ll find the Oyster Stage - a vibrant gathering place for knowledge, music, talks and storytelling, offering insight into the Wadden Sea and its fascinating world of oysters.

At the Oyster Stage, the Wadden Sea Centre, Tønnisgård, the Wadden Sea National Park and MitVadehav come together side by side, bringing the nature of the tides up close.

Around the stage, you can explore a variety of activities, tastings and sensory experiences. Over the open fire, you can bake seaweed twist bread and sample seaweed pancakes, while nature guides share stories about the forces, landscape and wildlife of the Wadden Sea. In the mobile aquariums, you can get up close to creatures that usually hide beneath the surface - and learn about invasive species, the importance of oysters, and their journey from seabed to plate.

In the activity area, children and adults alike can colour illustrations from MitVadehav, decorate oyster shells, or purchase an oyster craft kit for creative immersion - to enjoy on site or at home.

The Oyster Stage at Skibbroen is where curiosity and knowledge meet - offering vivid insights into the Wadden Sea right in the heart of the festival atmosphere.

Talks at the Oyster Stage

Would you like to learn more - and grow even more curious - about oysters? Then stop by the Oyster Stage at Skibbroen. In the heart of the festival atmosphere, the stage is a vibrant meeting place for knowledge, storytelling and tastings, where the tides and raw nature of the Wadden Sea are brought vividly to life.

Throughout the afternoon, you can experience four short talks - each offering a different perspective on oysters and the Wadden Sea. Discover oysters as an invasive species, follow the journey behind Pink Oyster, gain inspiration for cooking with seaweed, and round off the day with a lively natural and cultural history of oysters in the Wadden Sea. Drop in for a single talk, or stay for all four.

13:00-13:30

Talk: Oysters as an Invasive Species
with Xenia Salomonsen

Oysters are delicious - but they can also pose challenges. Many of the oysters found in the Wadden Sea today are Pacific oysters, originally native to the Pacific Ocean and therefore classified as an invasive species. Marine biologist Xenia Salomonsen from the Wadden Sea National Park explains what “invasive species” means in practice, and how oysters affect nature and marine life in the Wadden Sea.

13:45-14:15

Talk: Pink Oyster
with Jonas Harboe Frederiksen

Born on the “sunshine island” in the middle of the Baltic Sea – without ever having tasted an oyster. In this talk, Jonas Harboe Frederiksen shares his journey into the culinary profession: about curiosity, craftsmanship and flavour - and about unlocking the essence of the oyster and writing an oyster encyclopaedia. Hear the story of working at one of the world’s best restaurants, winning Oyster Festival of the Year, and going from foraging, pickling and refining wild ingredients to becoming self-employed and making a living serving oysters.

14:30-15:00

Talk: Seaweed
with Steffen Lydiksen Petersen

When you’re out foraging for oysters, there’s often seaweed to harvest as well. Nature guide Steffen Lydiksen Petersen demonstrates how seaweed can be used - in cooking, as fertiliser, and even for smoking food. Along the way, you’ll receive practical tips and tastings, including air-fried seaweed and pickled seaweed.

15:15-15:45

Talk: Oysters - A Natural and Cultural History
with Klaus Melbye

In this engaging short talk, Klaus Melbye takes you through the history of oysters in the Wadden Sea: from exports to the Russian court in the 1770s, through the European oyster in the early 1900s, to the introduction of the Pacific oyster in the 1980s via the island of Sylt - and on to the wild oyster beds we harvest from today. Along the way, you’ll also learn what oysters feed on, why they thrive in tidal waters, how fast they grow, how large they can become, and where in the world the largest oysters are found.