ANNAPOLIS, Md. — How do you welcome spring after one of the coldest winters in decades? In Annapolis’s Eastport neighborhood, people burn their socks.
The Annapolis Oyster Roast & Sock Burning — an annual festival timed to the spring equinox — draws hundreds for a mix of smoky bonfires, oysters, music and revelry. Attendees toss old socks into a communal fire to mark the start of boating and warmer weather.
The ritual dates to 1977, when a bay that had frozen over prompted a fed-up local sailor to toss his socks into a bonfire rather than wear them again. Bob Turner, a boatyard worker, is credited with starting the practice; he told coworkers he wouldn’t put the socks back on until winter returned. The idea stuck, and the event became a seasonal tradition.
This year’s crowd used the same word to describe the winter that preceded the celebration: brutal. The Annapolis Yacht Club’s “Frostbite” race series had to be delayed because Spa Creek and the Severn River were iced over — the first such postponement in 20 years, race committee co-chair Dick Neville said.
On festival day, the sun and live music from the Eastport Oyster Boys and the Naptown Brass Band set a festive tone. Locals like Mary Keller watch the sock flames with bemused satisfaction. Longtime attendee Scot Labin described the annual ritual of choosing which socks to sacrifice — hole-riddled blends, Egyptian cotton gifted by moms, and dress socks rendered obsolete by remote work all make the cut.
Oysters are central to the event. Mike Dicus, who’s been shucking for 35 years, said he’d already shucked thousands and expected many more before the day ended. He demonstrated an “Eastern Shore stabbing style,” entering the oyster from the front to detach the muscles.
As the celebration nears its peak, Annapolis poet laureate Jefferson Holland recites his “Ode to the Equinox.” The poem explains the point of sock burning: through spring, summer and fall, revelers go sockless, sporting “stinky bare feet stuck in old deck shoes” while enjoying the water or a brew.
With Holland’s last line, the crowd launches the main event. The sock burning is not formalized — it’s a gleeful free-for-all. Dozens of socks arc through the air and land in the sandy pit: some catch fire immediately, others need a nudge. Children and longtime locals alike pitch in.
For many, the festival is an excuse to drink and celebrate the season’s change. Framing it around the theatrical act of burning the old and welcoming the new ensures the Oyster Roast & Sock Burning remains a lively, enduring Annapolis tradition.