Extremely long lines to wait in for everything, especially oysters from the best vendors. Even though Drake's Bay had the largest oysters, the vendor with the baja oysters were the best w/the shortest line! After paying admission and waiting in line an hour+ for oysters and $7 beers, I will think twice about coming again. Organizers need to have adequate space and enough oyster vendors to meet the demand.

Had a blast!

First you gotta pay 17.50 to get into the joint provided you went through Gold star or any other discount site or else it's a steep 40 at the door. Then it takes over 2 hours to get to be able to place your order because the lines moved so slow, and in some cases wait another 30-40 minutes after your order is placed since they have to shuck the things. Lastly it costs roughly the same or if not more than in other actual restaurants and establishments so really what's the point? If it's for the live music or alcohol that was served that took equally as long well then it's certainly not worth it.

Pros
1. Nice venue

Cons
1. Long lines
2. Not nearly enough oysters (or even food).
3. Overpriced

I was looking forward to this festival as I am from Louisiana and love oysters, beer and music. While the music kept going...the lines at Oysterfest were out of control. It might as well have been called linefest. I expected that beers would be a little steep, but at $8 for a Guinness I thought that was even a bit too much. The worst thing that happened was that after waiting in line for ~45min-1hr for Tomales Bay oysters, they RAN OUT OF OYSTERS. And after that there was no way I was going to switch to the >1hr long line for Drake's Bay oysters. Lame, lame, lame. We left right after that. At least tickets were half off.

The bands all sounded alike - there were a ton of people, great for people watching, every where was direct sun light, various booths of alcohol, free water, th food wasnt th best. Th oysters were gritty. There were an abundent amount of porta potties, which had decent room.
The overall atmosphere was an amazing mix of ages and walks of life, everyone did their part to keep th park clean.
It changes location and venue..I heard it was country in 2011.
The food vendors were not prepared for purchases until closer to noon
The ATV's were driving to quickly thru th crowd and kicked up dust into peoples food and drink
The police horse relieved itself on th pathway and was not cleaned up
There were 3 vendors who cheered only when given a tip, very unnecessary...
I wanted a momento..but couldnt find a single vendor who had any :(

Second time attending this festival, this year was worse...we were pulled out of two different lines by confused staff members which caused a two-hour wait just to get into the venue...Once we were inside, there was another line with a wait of 20 minutes to show our driver's license to purchase alcohol...Finally, a 1 1/2 hour wait for $50 cost for 2 dozen oysters which was missing garnishings since Drakes ran out of garlic butter and cocktail sauce....By the time we got our food and fell in line for another 30 minutes for beer, we missed all the headliners performing that day. We spent almost $200 for 6 hours of grief and frustration. I will never return to this festival again, over-priced, ridiculous unorganized food/drink booths and looooooong waits in line.

It was a beautiful day and it was nice to be out, but as to the event itself there were TERRIBLE lines. There were way more people then the venue/space could accommodate, which resulted in crazy lines to get in, and then more lines inside to for pretty much everything. Long lines for beer, long lines for oysters, long lines for EVERYTHING.

I heard other people around me grumbling about the lines too throughout the event, and people joked the event should be called Line Fest, not oysterfest.

The music was great, however everything else was rather disappoionting. The line to get in was massive and poorly managed. The lines for food were massive, it just seems like they sold to many tickets for the event.

Way over crowded. Did not get any oysters because the line was 1.5 hour long.

Ridiculously long lines to buy oysters! Don't call it Oysterfest if you are going to make people wait in line for over an hour to buy oysters...
Also, although the music was good, the sound system was pretty bad (the wind probably didn't help too much...)
Otherwise, it was a fun event

This event was PURE CHAOS! We waited in one line only to be told that we needed to go to another line for Goldstar Will Call Tickets. We were told Goldstar Will Call Tickets were around the back of the front entrance but they were not. We were then told to go through the main entrance where there were prominent SNAP Will Call and Ticket signs. Once we finally got through to the Will Call area, we see this teeny tiny sign that says Goldstar Will Call. The stress did not end there! Long lines, crazy crowds, no place to sit. Wow! Instead of a fun, relaxed day on the Meadow with great food and drink, it was awful.

Didn't care for location. I liked Fort Mason spot better last year. More central location in city to get to/from event. Lines for food/drink were too long.

Went there a half hour after opening. There were basically 3-4 oyster vendors. The price for the oysters were basically what I would pay at a restaurant: 6 oysters for $12. Admission was $17 using goldstar, $35 regular, $40 at the door. Not many things to do. I thought this would be like the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This isn't worth it. Will not go back again.

Checking in via the Goldstar Will-Call was easy enough, and the location was fine. But I do have two big complaints about OysterFest '12:

1. The event overall was way too expensive--even with the reduced Goldstar entry free. If I'm paying to enter, I expect the cost of the food to be somewhat subsidized. And oysters are expensive, I realize that. But after spending ~$40, I still walked out of the festival hungry.

2. The number of oyster vendors must increase--there weren't enough, and as a result, the lines were HORRENDOUS. Between 12-4pm, I could have driven to Tomales Bay in less time than it took me to get a plate of oysters.

The event was too crowded, exits were not well marked, lines were excessively long and wait times to get food were unacceptable. There were simply too many people crowded into the area, with little or no room to walk around. Had there been an emergency, people could have been injured attempting to exit the venue. I will forward my formal complaints to the SFFD Fire Marshal. I will not attend again nor can I recommend the event to my family or friends.

Never again...waited in will call line for 30 minutes then had to wait in line 3 hours to buy some oysters. At an oysterfest there should be oysters readily available. Will not attend this ever again!!

Queues for food (especially) and drinks were ridiculously long. Suffice to say that I didn't get to order a single oyster because the waiting time was over an hour for those vendors! It was also a penalty to have pre-booked tickets, as those of us with 'will call' tickets had to wait in a long queue, whilst people wanting cash tickets could stroll right in. (The queue for the people with printed tickets was even longer, poor things.) On the plus side, queues for the toilets were short or non-existent - probably because it was so hard to get a drink!

It was also ridiculous how uninformed the gate staff were - we spoke to ~10 people and noone could 100% confirm that we were at Gate B and in the right line for GoldStar tickets (signage was obviously so poor that we couldn't work it out for ourselves).

Mediocre event with long lines. Not really worth the price of admission

All I can say is LINES, LINES, LINES EVERYWHERE....very disorganized, small area and WAY too many people per square footage....absolute mess. To get inside it took about an hour, ATM lines 30-45 minutes, food lines also 30 minutes MINIMUM....i'm glad i didn't pay the full ticket price, otherwise would have been more upset, $20 maximum price for this event, $40 is so not worth it, just to get inside and spend so much time in lines for overprized food/drinks.

We had a great time. It got really packed after a few hours and some of the infrastructure including manual pump sinks weren't quite up to the task, but the food was great, if expensive, and the drinks were strong. Young the Giant and the other bands were awesome even though the sound system left something to be desired (it sucked).

Holy lines! Wait to get tickets at will call. Wait to get ID checked (please just make this 21 and over). Wait for beer. Wait for the bathroom. Wait longer for liquor. Wait longest for oysters. Venue was OK though and it was easy to sit and watch the show (because everyone was in line waiting for something). Need trash cans throughout the venue--that was a miss.

The music was good. But the lines were out of control there wern't enough vendors for the amount of people that were there. You had to stand in line for over in hour to even get oysters. The prices were kinda steep. Drinks were $7 when we first arrived then they upped the price @ 2pm. We ended up leaving the event just to get food. Not worth the money. You can get better Oysters at a restaurant and not have to wait over an hour to get them.

The event was not well organized at all, and so we ended up wasting too much time waiting in lines rather than enjoying the festival.

Jolly oysters was clearly not prepared for the volume of business; we had to pay upfront and then come back more than an hour later to pick up the oysters. All because they were behind in shucking?! Even Drake's lines were unreasonably long.

Also, having no water readily accessible or for sale by vendors was a terrible idea, given the amount of beer and drinks sold!

Food and drinks were all overpriced, making the experience overall even worse. Totally not worth it.

Oysterfest is more of an outdoor music festival with a few Oyster companies food tents. I would have liked to see more Oyster companies and shorter lines, but all in all it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours in the most beautiful city in California. The bands were very good. I don't think I will attend Oysterfest again, but it was fun.

The event was just ok. The area was small for the number of people, and the acoustics weren't the best. The lines for food and drink were absurd unless you arrived right at opening time. Probably wouldn't do it again, the food was too expensive considering the price of the ticket.

I liked it. Lots of great food options besides oysters such tri-tip sandwiches, fish tacos, and sausages. The oyster shooters were bad, made with a nasty cocktail sauce, not the way I like. Music was good. Didn't like how Guiness monopolized the beer market, so you could only get Guiness, bass, and smithwhick (sp?) not that I don't like these beers but I like variety more. Also glad I got there early to get oysters and food because later in the event it was an hour wait in line to get oysters.

Be ready for lines! Lots and lots of lines! The space didn't seem large enough for the size of crowds they allowed in for the event. Getting into the event was extremely unorganized and getting a plate of oysters took forever. You'd expect more oyster stands for something called Oysterfest.

It was way too crowded. The lines for everything were too long. It was difficult to find a space in which to sit. I will not attend again.

A fun event. The food was good, though the lines got pretty long and they ran out of some things. There was enough beer stations to keep it flowing quickly, and some of the music was really good. I would go again.

I did not like the idea of spending around $30 to get to more expensive food with huge lines. I believe it is just better to go to any neighborhood street fair during june, there are more things to do/buy and music and with no fee. That is just my opinion. This event would be better if there was no cover or cheaper food that at least compensates the cover fee.

Unbearably crowded. Took 20 minutes of standing in line to enter the venue (despite having purchased tickets online). Then, it took a total of 2 hours of standing in more lines to get ANY oysters, and when we did, they were tiny (some smaller than my thumb). The venue was clearly unprepared for the (alcohol fueled) crowds, and to get from one area to another, you had to cut through about 7 (angry) food lines or nearly step on people trying to enjoy the live music. Won't go back again.

Vendors were great! Not enough oyster stands for the event. Lines were crazy long and over all the event was very unorganized. Acoustics for the the stage were not good for people toward the back or on the grass.

Too many drunk, smelly, rude hipsters. The line to get in was confusing - no one knew where to pick up will call tickets, so many waited in the wrong line for about an hour before realizing there was a small will call ticket line. Will call wasn't even will call. I showed my printed confirmation and was told to enter the event. I didn't show any ID or confirmation of my identity. Anyone could have printed up extra copies of their goldstar purchases and given them to people. The lines were so long that it wasn't even worth waiting for food or drinks. I stayed at this event for less than 30 minutes before leaving. What a complete waste of money. Lesson learned.

Good event but vendor lines were exceptionally slow. 2 hours in line to wait for oysters.

It seemed as though they didn't plan for the large crowds - I waited in line for oysters for an hour and a half. Otherwise I did like the venue but the long wait times really put a damper on the event.

Once I got there, I felt like I bought tickets, to wait in line to enter, to wait in line for ID check to wait in line for oysters, to wait in line again for the beer to compliment the oysters. At that point the oysters were awesome but didn't satisfy and I wasn't about to wait in more lines for a $10 hotdog and $8 beers. The music was audible but couldn't really tell what was playing, or that anyone actually cared. However, I was with friends and they saved the day. We all decided next time we could get an excellent sit down meal on a nice day for less $. Thanks Goldstar though for getting us tix at over half price!

Wow. I was really disappointed (sadly) in this event. A more apropos name would have been 'Anything-But-Oyster' Fest. As far as I could tell, there was one potentially two oyster vendors there (Drake's Bay and another vendor selling smaller-sized oysters somewhere...). There were two tents selling Drake's Bay oysters, each positioned at opposite ends of the meadow and I'm guessing with equally long ridiculous waits (I waited over one hour to get a dozen oysters). The vast majority of the vendors were for either booze or other food. Where was the diversity in oyster vendors? Two stands really for an oysterfest?!?! Also I have to say the lines getting into the event were totally disorganized. It was not at all clear what line was for printed e-tickets versus will call. I won't be back for next year.

The venue change worked out rather well, altho there really is no comparison to Fort Mason and the Bridge views. The Bathrooms seemed plentiful (altho as usual, the sheeple needed instructions on how to line up for and properly utilize the portolets) seriously people, walk up look at the handles. Green means unoccupied, KNOCK FIRST, but don't wait 50 feet from the nearest Portolet and line up single file, gads!) Food seemed plentiful altho I didn't sample any, folks enjoyed the oysters. Full bars will a plenty. One could consider this event the largest Frat party ever....which can have its advantages as far as male eye candy....but i digress.....Great Event put it on your calendar for next year! Note early entry is always a good thing to these events, they do get crowded, the music alone is worth the entry...but if you are set on getting food, go early!

I've been to every kind of festival, all over the world, and I have never been to one so disorganized as this. I wish it was possible to give 0 stars.

Goldstar had sent us an email saying we needed to be at gate B, but there were no signs on the gates to indicate which was A and B. Then when we finally figured out we were at the right gate, there were two enormous lines - one for people with tickets and one for those paying with cash. We didn't have tickets in hand but had already paid, so couldn't figure out which line to join, and there was no one who could help. We asked a member of staff who didn't even know. We took a guess and joined the "tickets" line, even though the cash line was much shorter (so no point getting tickets in advance unless you're getting the Goldstar discount). Eventually after about 15 minutes a member of staff came past who told us we were in the wrong line, so we ended up queuing again in the cash line.

When we finally got to the front, there was a tiny sign that said "Will Call" and an even tinier sign saying "GoldStar" - handwritten and stuck up with tape. There was no way to see it from the end of the line, given how far distant that was.

Once inside the experience getting in to the festival was repeated, with lines everywhere. We lined up to get an over-21 stamp, 15 minutes to get to the bar, and over 30 minutes to get any food. For some stalls the line was over an hour. I ended up having two oysters all day, and giving up to go to a local restaurant when I finally got too hungry to hang around. "Oysterfest" should definitely be renamed "Linefest". A total organizational failure. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Would NEVER go back.

Basically paid admission to wait 2 hours in line for oysters with music playing on a crappy sound system played in the background. Organizers over sold the event. Not enough vendors to handle the crowd, and vendors on hand ran out of food before the day was over. I will not go back to this event.

The oyster featival was poorly planned. Very long.lines to get in. Very very long lines to the food stals. An hour at least to each stal. To try different oysters you had to wait two hours. I dont know if tthe bands were any good because the sound was weak and badly engineered. I will not return next year.

It was horrible. The lines for any food were SO long that we just ended up leaving and going to a restaurant. It was crowded as well and people were basically shoving others around. We waited for nearly an hour for fish tacos and when we got to the front, the vendor ran out of food. Terrible experience overall.

It's kind of ridiculous to charge $35-$40 bucks (without discount) to get into the Oysterfest where you then have to pay more for food and drinks. Even with the discounted Goldstar tickets I felt like I was spending way too much. The oysters were not discounted, the food was not discounted, the beer was not discounted. Why are we paying an admission fee?

Horrible planning logistics getting into the show, lame bands, horrible planning logistics inside the event. The oysters were good, but the lines were endless. I'd never go again. But hey, if you like standing in lines all day and enjoy paying too much for oysters, it could be just the thing for you!

We got there around 3pm and it was so crowded there was hardly any space to walk. The lines for the oysters were so long at Drakes Oysters. We stood in line for about an hour and half just for that. We also wanted to get some Kumamoto Oysters but by that time they had run out. The music was wonderful on the other hand. I think they could have planned it better by having more space and more booth's for oysters. There were just too many people for venue.

Great music. Too crowded. Oysters lines were very long and ran out before the event was over. Need to come when it opens in order to avoid the cons.

Lines for food and drinks were way too long. It would also be great to have more oyster-related food vendors since it is "Oysterfest".

Too much money for not enough fun, delicious food, or worthwhile music. I waited in line for an hour and a half to get a dozen oysters -- AT AN OYSTER FESTIVAL. Waste of time and too much money. I don't recommend going again.

In short, good try, San Francisco. The oyster lines--all lines, for that matter--were consistently outrageously long. Once we got to the front of the line, they were OUT of oysters, and we were told to come back 30 minutes later. Very, very disappointing. On a lighter note, the music was good.

A plus was that the goldstar ticket allowed us to skip the massive line to enter. Everything else was a negative. I feel bad for the folks who waited in a 2 hour line to wait again for 1 more hour to get oysters. The drinks were great, the oysters, well, the lines were incredibly long, and were not worth it. I would not do this again.

can't really call it an oysterfest when there are only 2 oyster vendors and 10+ other tents selling everything BUT oysters! this was poorly organized. i had to wait over an hour in line to receive mediocre oysters at best. not to mention, the price of the oysters were comparable to any other farmers market/seafood restaurant in the city.

My friends and I have been to this event in years past and this year was a huge disappointment. It was way over sold and over crowded. It felt like the venue changed to increase capacity but the number of vendors, ticket checkers, etc did not increase. The line to get in as well as the line for oysters took an hour to get through. Also, to buy bottled water or soda you had to wait in the very long food vendor lines (and I only saw one vendor selling these drinks). I love beer and oysters, but being outside for hours having a water or something to stay hydrated, to drink more beer, is a must.

Unfortunately, I think that because of how poorly organized this event has become. I will no longer be making this an annual event something our group attends.

The festival itself was decent. Small location, a lot of people. I didn't know any of the bands playing, but that was alright...but I should have listened to my brother and a friend who got food poisoning from the oysters last year. I thought I would be safe by steering clear from the oysters, but the fish tacos were just as bad. The festival wasn't worth the food poisoning that hit later that night. Definitely won't be returning to Oysterfest for the food.

Not that well organized in terms of lines but getting in went okay over all - no problems with the tickets. I wouldn't have paid full price for these tickets but getting them at half off made it worth while. You must try Drake's bbq'd oysters!

The oysters and drinks were way too expensive.

3 of us entered with Goldstar passes. The sign at entry was confusing: one long line for cash payers and the shorter line for printed e-vouchers. When we got the the front of the line we were told we needed to be in the Cash line! Once in, we sat on a blanket in Sharon Meadow and enjoyed the music, people watching, and food (when we could get it). The food and drink lines grew to horrific lengths (line cutting was hopelessly pervasive), into the crowd of people seated on the grass trying to enjoy the festivities. Many were walked over; the stage was no longer visible, and the dust kicked up by the traffic amongst the blankets made for a gritty picnic.

This event needs more explicit entry signage, a larger venue, and vendors prepared for the numbers of hungry patrons (an hour in line for BBQ oysters was excruciating). Better line formations with specific crossing points would help greatly to prevent the people cutting through and spilling their food & beverages on the people in line. Make these changes and my friends and I may return next year.

The event was horrible. Overcrowded and not enough vendors to support the amount of people. We would wait in line 30minutes for beer or oysters. The vendors were not organized and they should have had more help. They had the oysters just not enough people shucking. And there was no method/system to accepting orders then allowing people to pick them up. I would also think that the oysters should be at a discounted price if people were expected to pay $40 at the door. The music was almost done existent. it just seemed like background noise. Bathrooms were efficient and the male trough is always appreciated :)

This event was ok. The oysters were great (as always) however the event didn't have much entertainment. The music was great , but the transition from one band to the next took too long (in my opinion). At first the lines for oysters were resonably long but half way through the event it took almost 2 hrs to get oysters. The lines from both oysters booth across the lawn almost reached each other (whoa...) . On another note there was a redbull tent by Entrance B which could have been placed some where on the main area would have been better utilized and there could have been more stand up bar tables on the main lawn as well. It's was a fun day at the festival, but there is room for improvements. I'm not so sure if I would pay $36- $40 for it again, i'd be more inclined to drive down to Tomales Bay for oysters and have a picnic there.

It was hard to hear or see the bands, hour long lines for food, and too expensive.

checking in was a nightmare.....very poorly planned..........music was too loud and hated the bands............lines for food too long

Very poorly planned event. Lines to get drinks or food were up to two hours long. Food stations ran out of food. It looked like the event was oversold for the size of the venue, as it was extremely crowded. For me, one of the great things about eating oysters is the experience and unfortunately this event was a huge waste of time. Save your money and go to your favorite resturant.

I will put the things offered at Oysterfest in bullet points, from shortest line to longest line.

• $7 beers (1-5m)
• Porta-potties (1-5m)
• Line to get in (20m)
• ATM (45m)
• Oysters (1h-1h30m)

If you LOVE Oysters and great Indie Bands that you would NEVER get to see for the price of a Financial District Lunch ($17.50 in this case with 1/2 off coupon from Goldstar), this is the place for you. GET THERE EARLY!! I was there at 10:50am, about 10 minutes before the event started and the lines were already a bit time consuming. They weren't LONG per se, but it took FOREVER to get through Goldstar Will Call. ALSO, the Goldstar signage was terrible...sorry dudes!
Lastly, my only complaint is that there were NO booths that sold water and NO water to be found. If you are going to dump our water out at the gate, then you need to PROVIDE water for purchase and/or free. I didn't get the parasites that everyone claimed happened last year, but I did get terribly dehydrated and heat stroked and was not able to go out for the rest of the evening due to a HORRID Dehydration headache. You guys NEED to let the event planners know that they HAVE to provide water or someone is going to end up sick or dead. ALSO ATM lines were RIDICULOUS! MORE ATM's OR vendors need to accept cards. Spending 1 hour in the ATM line is NO fun.
THAT'S ALL! and Though I think $40 ($35 pre-sale) is WAY too much considering the cost of food and drink inside, the $17.50 Goldstar price was fair and do-able.

Lines were ridiculously long? Thy should have also checked IDs where they were checking people in instead of having to wait in another line.

Lots of fun great music and tons of great people. Couldn't find any water bottles which was strange for such a large event.

The event was a waste of time, way to many people, $8 beers, you could only hear the music if you were right by the stage, the line for oysters was 30-45 mins, the layout was horrible, tons of bottle necks and poor planning.

Liked the music but everything else was a nightmare... 40 minute lines for any food or drink to pay inflated prices. A good reminder why to avoid "festivals" in San Francisco.

The event itself seemed disorganized... We waited 45 minutes to simply get in, another 45 to actually get oysters and the sound of the band was not great.

Bring Sun block next time.
Get there early to avoid hour long oyster lines.

Overpriced even with the Goldstar discount. The oysters were the highlight although you need to get them early as the lines result in hour plus waits later. Bring lots of $ as there are no bargains. The music was forgetable.

The bands are good.

Not worth the money; will never go again. None of the security guards were helpful or informative. ATM's were a joke. I spent most of my time in line at one ATM or another because they ran out of money; everything was so overpriced. The lines for food were really long. The food was overpriced and not good; as they started running out of food they upped the price further. The parking was not clearly marked at UCSF, the shuttle service pick-up points were not marked. Overall very bad experience.

The food was good. The bands were ok but it was super crowded by the end of the day. The lines to the oyster booths were miles long!

So I'd think at an oysterfest we might get somethnig different than 3 types of oysters..Kumamoto's, whatever was being served by Drakes Bay and a small place that had oysters called Luna's. Can I get some fried oyster's? Glad we came early because by the time we left at 1:30 the lines we're 25-30 people deep ! ! ! !

This was a complete waste of money. The lines to get food and drink were so long that you could be standing in line for one hour and then had to wait another hour for your order....Not worth it.