Photo / Jim Neuger
Crowds flock to food vendors at the Yarmouth Clam Festival each year.
April 13, 2020
Yarmouth chamber cancels this year's Clam Festival due to pandemic
Photo / Peter Van Allen
The Yarmouth Clam Festival traditionally kicks off with a parade along Main Street. The 55th annual festival has been canceled this year because of the ongoing public health crisis.
By William Hall
The Yarmouth Clam Festival, an annual public fair that draws tens of thousands and was to take place for the 55th time from July 17-19, has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, which holds the three-day festival to raise money for local nonprofits, announced the cancellation in a news release Friday.
“While we are disheartened at the thought of a summer without this traditional event, we feel that moving forward with the given uncertainty would be a risk to our community, volunteers, vendors and guests,” Executive Director Adrienne Nardi said in the release. “We also want to make sure we are able to provide the support our local business community needs at this time.”
Nardi said the chamber may consider holding a different community-wide event “when conditions allow” in order to help the local economy. Plans are also still on for the 2021 Clam Festival, to be held July 16-18 next year.
The chamber, which has over 180 business members, struggled with the decision to cancel the 2020 event, according to the group’s president, Erik Tiner, general manager of Lindquist Funeral Home in Yarmouth.
“This was one of the hardest decisions the chamber and the board have had to make in a very long time,” he said. “Knowing the rich history and tradition behind the Clam Festival, I can assure you this decision was not made lightly or without extensive conversation amongst the board. However, the health and safety of the community is much more important to us.”
The festival supports over 30 nonprofits, including school clubs, churches and cultural and civic organizations. Some rely heavily on the funding for year-round operations. For that reason, the chamber said, “We considered postponing the Clam Festival for a later date this year. But with so many questions about the timeline for the COVID-19 crisis, that is not feasible at the moment.”
Traditionally, the festival includes dozens of food vendors, an arts and crafts market, a popular carnival with rides and games, music acts, road races, a clam-shucking contest and more. The celebration kicks off with a parade of floats and marching bands, and locals use lawn chairs to stake out spaces on the parade route, often weeks in advance.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments