Lowcountry Oyster Festival is Sunday

In its 29th year, organizers are planning to serve up 80,000 pounds of the mollusks at the at this weekend.

The event steps off at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and wraps at 5 p.m. Tickets are $12. Bring your own knives and gloves, or buy them at the event site.

Buy tickets online or at .

is the world’s largest oyster festival and has been named one of the Top 20 events in the southeast by Southeastern Tourism Society, according to the event's sponsor, the Charleston Restaurant Association.

Highlights include the legendary oyster-shucking and oyster-eating contests, live music from Eddie Bush and The Mayhem on the main stage, wine, a selection of domestic and imported beers, a children’s area complete with pony rides and jump castles and a food court showcasing a variety of local favorite restaurants.

Kids 10 and under are free with an adult; coolers, pets and tailgating are not allowed. Parking is free.

The Lowcountry Oyster Festival is a charity fundraiser benefiting The Ronald McDonald House, Hospitality Heroes, Hollings Cancer Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children and Charleston County Schools Science Materials Resource Center.