High-Quality Clams Are Stockpiled for Yarmouth Clam Festival
"There will be no shortage of clams at this year's Clam Festival"
When you sell thousands of gallons of clams at a festival, you can't wait until the last minute to get them. That's why organizers of the Yarmouth Clam Festival buy clams months in advance.
"We've stockpiled a plentiful supply of high-quality clams, and we're in great shape for the festival opening Friday," said festival director, Holly Guy. “There will be no shortage of clams at this year’s Clam Festival.”
Yarmouth’s nonprofit organizations raise funds by selling a wide range of foods at the Festival including clams and other seafood. They purchase clams in late winter and early spring to offer them in various dishes: whole fried clams, fried clam strips, clam chowder, clam cakes, and steamers.
The Yarmouth Ski Club serves fried clams. “We expect to go through at least 250 gallons of clams that are on reserve for us. They were harvested from Maine flats in April and May,” said Sam Eddy, “and flash frozen to preserve flavor and texture. They’re indistinguishable from fresh clams.”
The Football Boosters and First Universalist Church will serve Harmon’s Clam Cakes, a Maine product prepared in advance and frozen with clams harvested from Maine beds.
Steamers, sold by Yarmouth Little League, need to be made with fresh clams. While the first choice is to source them from Maine beds, the Clam Festival will not take them from beds recently closed due to ‘red tide.’
“Our number-one priority is public safety, and we are vigilant about food safety,” said Guy. “We’re working carefully with sources in other states to obtain fresh clams for steaming.”
Sam Mangino, from Yarmouth Little League said, “We’ll purchase fresh steamer clams from a local seafood purveyor who can get them from southern New England flats not affected by red tide. We want to stimulate the economy by buying from local vendors and bring business to a New England shell fishing industry that has struggled through many weeks of rain this summer.”
The Little League booth will also serve lobster rolls stuffed with fresh-picked Maine lobster, shore dinners, and lobster bisque.
Yarmouth Clam Festival begins Friday, July 17, and runs through the weekend. It’s a family festival offering free admission, entertainment on four stages, competitions, amusements, craft and art shows, and favorite traditions like the Firefighters Muster, and the Clam Festival parade.
Contact:
Lisa Perkins
Clam Festival Communications
207-409-0873
press@clamfestival.com
