Clam Festival 2010
We made our annual trek to Yarmouth, Maine for this year’s Clam Festival. We had signed up to participate in The Levity Project – Maine so we had to be there by 4:30 pm on Friday. This was the first time we’ve had a fixed schedule when heading up and one of the only years we have been there in time for the parade.
After parking we rushed past the Food Circle in order to get to the North Yarmouth Academy Gymnasium and receive our instructions and umbrella hats for “Maine’s Longest Smile” being organized by The Levity Project. Although temperatures as we drove through Massachussets and New Hampshire and up into Maine were in the 90s, by the time we got to Yarmouth it was about 75. The gym was another story, hot and humid, but full of festivity!
Hippity-hop balls were being test driven by a variety of people while others were testing out the new hats. We signed in, filled out a photo release and starting reviewing the instructions we had been given. By 5pm we were being walked through the overall plan and were ready to head out to our assigned locations by 5:30. Before getting into position I snuck by the First Parish Congregation Church for my annual lobster roll. They make a perfect lobster roll – a bun and lots of lobster meat! Nothing else to distract from the delicious lobster flavor.
For the smile project our family was assigned to group three, which had a great location right by the Memorial Green tent and Food Circle. The street was lined with people prepared to watch the parade. The levity event went off without a hitch and we had a blast! Participating in the smile project was fun. It was a chance to be a part of the festival and not just an out-of-town visitor watching everything from the sidelines.
Once the smile wrapped-up we headed over to grab some dinner (my lobster roll having been a perfect appetizer). Sarah had calamari, Michael went for clam strips, Lisa found some chicken and I ordered the whole clams fried with crumbs (saving the batter-dipped for Saturday).
We enjoyed our meal and went over to explore the craft booths. The variety and quality of the work by the crafters makes the exploration fun.
For the first time we skipped the rides. Neither child was interested in heading into the carnival – perhaps the length and heat of the day had tired them out. We headed for a nearby hotel and relaxed.
Saturday we returned to the festival and explored the art show tents, which close early each night so we missed them Friday. We then had lunch. I had a Lime Rickey and fried clams in batter which were perfect!
Later in the afternoon we headed up to Belgrade, Maine where Lisa’s sister and brother-in-law have a lake-side camp. We celebrated our nephew Sam’s 20th birthday and enjoyed swimming and good company. I think that Michael, ever the water bug, spent more time in the water Saturday and Sunday than the rest of us combined!
Sunday afternoon we headed back, stopping by York Beach for some ice cream at Brown’s Ice Cream (Grape Nut as usual for Lisa, Sarah and me; Raspberry Sherbet for Michael). Dinner followed later at Fuddruckers in Massachusetts. Unfortunately I couldn’t convince Lisa to try the buffalo burger (we always split a burger since they are quite large). By 10:30pm we were home and getting organized for a new week.
As always we enjoyed the trip and look forward to our vacation in York Beach later in the summer.
Thank you to Leslie Wagner (http://www.lesliewagnerphoto.com/) for allowing me to share her photos from The Levity Project event.
Tags: Clam Festival, Family, Maine