Blades were being sharpened and thousands of dozens of oysters were beginning to be prepped this week in anticipation for Karuah's biggest event of the year - the oyster and timber festival.
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Organisers are again expecting a crowd of more than 7000 people to attend the festival in Longworth Park which this year will be held on Saturday, October 19.
"It really brings the town together. Everyone gets exciting around this time of the year," one of the festival's organising committee members, Dean Cole, said.
Mr Cole and his brother Stephen, from Cole Bros Oysters, are already preparing the thousands of oysters that they will sell throughout the festival.
The pair also supply the oysters for the festival's hugely popular oyster eating competition.
Each year the competition gains close to 200 entries. However, only 15 entries are drawn out of a barrel just before 1pm to take part in the competition that features three heats of five people going head-to-head to eat their oysters the quickest.
The three fastest people go in the final round.
BIG4 Karuah Jetty Holiday Park has supplied the top two prizes for the competition. First prize is seven days stay in a luxury cabin. Second place is a weekend stay. Cole Bros Oysters will supply the third prize.
Another popular feature of the Karuah Oyster and Timber Festival is the duck race. Five hundred brand new rubber ducks have been purchased for this year's river race.
Ducks will be tipped off the Karuah Bridge at 2pm. The cost to enter is $5 a duck. First duck across the line wins its owner $700. There will be second, third and fourth prizes.
This year, four random ducks will be plucked out of the pool for prize giveaways.
Karuah Motor Yacht Club will be running its popular children's fishing competition on the day. Registration is at the jetty from 8am. The yacht club generously supplies great prizes for participants.
Another feature of the festival is the woodchopping events, which will kick off about 9.30am.
All woodchopping events will be held in Longworth Park this year due to the extensive renovations being carried out at Karuah RSL Club.
In past years the final event, the hardest hit, has been completed at the club.
The club's courtesy bus will be ferrying festival attendees from the car parks to the riverside on the day where there will be children's activities, more than 50 variety stalls, a classic car display, food and drinks, and a boating safety display set up by the water.
"If you haven't been to Karuah before this is the perfect day to do it," Mr Cole said. "You can watch woodchoppers and can taste some of the best oysters in the world right here in Karuah."