HOOPERS ISLAND — The third annual Startup Maryland Pitch Bus tour is coming to Dorchester County on Sept. 16. Held in coordination with Baltimore Innovation Week, and hosted by Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture during their Day by the Bay event, the Startup Maryland Pitch Bus provides current and potential entrepreneurs with the opportunity to turn their ideas into businesses. But whether or not you wish to compete for funding, the day promises to fill you with great food and the entrepreneurial spirit.

The day begins with the Pitch Bus tour stop 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. giving Maryland entrepreneurs a chance to get their ideas in front of investors, and to network and gain guidance from business leaders across the state. Entrepreneurs can board the bus and record a 3- to 5-minute video to pitch their idea. Those videos will then be uploaded to YouTube and are open to public viewing and voting. Ultimately, finalists will compete for venture investment.

The day also includes a Chef Cook-Off, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Seafood Marketing Program. This chef challenge will featuring Chef Patrick Fanning from Cambridge Eateries, as well as celebrated chefs from Factors Row, Laughing Crab, and Denson’s R&B Oyster Bar, and others. Participants will be presented with oysters and a surprise fresh Maryland seafood selection to cook up in hopes of winning the timed and judged challenge. The day continues with the opportunity to learn about a cutting-edge innovation taking place right in Dorchester County. Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture will be unveiling its new, state-of-the-art oyster grading machine. One of only two such devices in the world (the other being in Australia), it will be displayed as part of a tour of the Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture facility. Tours will take place every half hour, from 2-6 p.m. Tickets for tours will be $25 and will also include all-you-can-eat oysters (prepared a variety of ways), hotdogs, and hamburgers, cooked up by oyster growers Mad House Oysters, Barren Island Oysters, Chesapeake Oyster Company, and Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture. All proceeds benefit IronClub MD.

To learn more, or to register for the Startup Maryland Pitch Bus, visit http://startupmaryland.org/pitchmd/. For additional information about the rest of the Day by the Bay activities, contact Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture at (410) 397-3664.