Gloucester has partnered with Middlesex and Lancaster counties to become part of Virginia Oyster Country, a designated location in coastal Virginia, rich in cultural heritage.

According to Gloucester’s Tourism coordinator Hilton Snowdon, the area’s water-based heritage spans from the earliest Native Americans to today’s working watermen, with an abundance of natural resources from the York, Piankatank and Rappahannock rivers, all flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

“VOC is a destination for the visitor who is looking for an authentic experience relating to, ‘Real Oysters, Real People and the Real Virginia,’ that quest for a true culinary, cultural or recreational getaway to the epicenter of the resurgence of the Virginia oyster,” Snowdon said.

The partnership will include educational tours of aquaculture facilities, learning about sustainable environmental projects, visiting oyster farms, and more.

Also, this fall, “The Virginia Oyster A...