Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
, July 17, 2009 17:25
Whole fried clams in crumbs. Fried clam strips. Fried clams in batter. Clam chowder. Clam cakes. Steamed clams. Yep, it’s time once again for that ultimate festival for clam-lovers: the 44th Annual Yarmouth Clam Festival in Maine. Over 100,000 visitors are expected this weekend in Yarmouth. And if, by chance, some of them want to explore the non-clam cuisine of the region, well, there’ll be plenty to choose from. Like blueberry soda, fried dough, fish chowder, whoopie pies, fried scallops and scallop rolls, blueberry-topped cheesecake, homemade pies, blueberry crisp, lobster rolls, lobster bisque, steamed lobsters, lobster stew, baked beans, brown bread, and the festival favorite, lime rickeys. Whew! That really just scratches the surface when it comes to eating at the festival, if you can believe it. We should just point out, for the Jon Stewart fans among you, that Boy Scout Troop #35 will be serving Breakfast Sausage Wrapped in Pancake on a Stick (sorry, there’ll be no Baconnaise dip).
Do you feel that a festival needs more than food to be worthy of your attention? (Really, you do?) There’s plenty to do here to fill in the gaps between meals. There’s the Clam Festival Parade at 6 pm tonight, featuring “Steamer” the Clam. At 11:15 am tomorrow (Saturday) you can witness the Maine State Clam Shucking Contest, for amateurs and professionals. There will be craft shows, art shows and sales, trolley rides, wagon rides, a carnival, and a pink elephant sale all three days. There’s also lots of live performances scheduled: singer-songwriters, vaudeville, children’s entertainment, rock, Americana, jazz, folk, uke, steel drum, country, mime, juggling, magic, Cajun, surf, swing, blues, R&B, alternative, oldies, contradancing, barbershop, soul, break dance, hip hop, comedians… is there an entertainment genre they missed?
There’s a lot more scheduled. See the festival website for details.
