The Massey Hill Lions Club presents the 53rd Shuck’n for Sight Oyster Roast, an all you can eat event, held on Jan. 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The oyster roast will take place at 1613 Camden Road. Tickets are $50 and are available at Massey Hill Drug Store, 1072 Southern Ave., at Classic Coiffure’s Hair and Nail Salon, 3710 Morganton Rd. or by texting Michael McCaskill at 910-551-4662 or by email at masseyhilllionsclub@gmail.com. No tickets will be sold at the door. This is a dine in only event, and no take out containers are allowed.
“The annual event provides the Massey Hill Lions Club the opportunity to bring people together from far and wide for their ‘All You Can Eat Event.’ This is the 53rd Annual Shuck’n for Sight Oyster Roast, where they serve more than two hundred bushels of oysters to more than seven hundred attendees,” said Michael McCaskill, a past president of the Massey Hill Lions Club. “This annual event hosted by the Lions Club is a community wide event for those who love to shuck oysters. This is one of the largest single-day oyster roasts on the East Coast, and most attendees are long-term, and several come from Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey. From “Professional Oysters” that bring in their own concoctions of special sauces, lemons, and specialized shucking tools to first-time attendees, no one leaves the event hungry,” McCaskill said. “The Oyster Roast keeps the spirit of Massey Hill alive with this community event and is most like a family reunion with familiar faces. Multiple levels of society come together, such as politicians, business owners, truck drivers, attorneys, multiple generations, workers, laborers; all sharing the love of the oyster roast.
“As one individual stated it …. you can have a Judge on one end of the table shucking an oyster right along with someone they have just fined in a court case,” McCaskill said.
Lions Club members work hard to make sure the roast is successful, giving their time throughout the weekend.
“From the set-up on Friday, the event on Saturday, and clean-up on Sunday, members are worn out after the event is concluded. Lions members understand their efforts are for a great cause,” McCaskill said.
According to McCaskill, funds raised at this annual Oyster Roast go to support many community service projects that the Lions Club conducts throughout the year. Lions Clubs around the world are known for their support of vision care programs. The Massey Hill Lions Club is no exception. Their funds raised go toward assisting those who lack financial resources. The Massey Hill Lions Club assists qualified candidates with visual needs by providing them with eye examinations and the purchase of glasses.
This year, funds raised will also go toward the purchase of the Club’s own visual equipment to provide free eye-tests to students in the local schools, and other young people in day care centers, churches, and other locations. With more than 60,000 students in the Cumberland County School System, this free testing will be available once the equipment is purchased. Additionally, the club will provide free color-blind testing. The club participates in projects such as diabetes awareness activities, health fairs, blood drives, annual support of Boys and Girls Homes, and other community-focused events. It is the belief of Lions’ members that “where there is a need, there is a Lion.”
The Shuck’n for Sight Oyster Roast will be held Jan. 31 at 1613 Camden Rd. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The $50 tickets for the roast must be purchased in advance by visiting the Massey Hill Drug Store or Classic Coiffure’s Hair and Nail Salon or by reaching out to Mike McCaskill. No tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the event.

(Photo: Participants at the 2024 Massey Hill Lions Club Shuck'n for Sight Oyster Roast get ready for their oyster feast. Photo courtesy of Massey Hill Lions Club)