YARMOUTH — After two summers on hiatus because of the pandemic, the Yarmouth Clam Festival was back again with large crowds on Saturday, the second day of the event. Organizers said attendance over the three days is expected to be about 100,000.

The town center turned into a celebration as the smell of fried food wafted through the air. Family and friends greeted one another – and posed with “Steamer,” the festival’s mascot clam.

There were road races, demonstrations by the local police dog, arts and crafts and souvenirs for sale, carnival rides, and music by the  Downeasters Barbershop Harmony Society. Rock music and fireworks were scheduled for Saturday night.

“We are excited” to have the festival back, said Rolande Hempstead of Yarmouth. “I missed the parade to bring my grandchildren. We love that whole community spirit.”

Lori MacDonald, also of Yarmouth. said she was delighted “just to see the crowds, everybody back together again, and excited.”

The Maine State Clam Shucking Contest drew a tent full of laughing, cheering fans. On a stage, wearing yellow fishermen’s hats and orange aprons, contestants competed to win in three divisions: one for local television and radio personalities, another for amateurs and a third for professional shuckers.

In the professional category, Beatrice Quintal of Waldoboro, who has won the contest before, was the fastest of the festival, shucking 39 clams in two minutes. The next fastest was 23 clams shucked in two minutes.

The rules didn’t make it easy, said host Phil Harriman, who introduced Trish Brown, the official counter of the clams. After the shucking, the clam counting began. “When you pick it up by the neck, the belly has to be attached,” Harriman explained. “It’s going to be the biggest controversy of the day, whether we have a hanging clam chad or not,” he joked.

The team from News Center Maine won in the celebrity category, and Jesse Harriman was the amateur winner after a tie-breaking “shuck-off.”

Down the street, six professional sand artists were at work, making elaborate sculptures such as a whale, a huge lobster, several characters and the Portland Head Light.

Sam Martelle, 8, of Yarmouth, marveled as Darrell O’Connor of Delaware created shingles on a house connected to the lighthouse, all made of sand. A computer system analyst, O’Connor said he got into creating sand sculptures because “I love the beach, but I can’t stay still.”

Nearby a field turned into an outside food court, with lines of customers waiting to be served by several nonprofit organizations – the Lions Club, the Yarmouth High School senior class, the hockey boosters, the Scouts, the Little League, the Downeasters barbershop chorus, the ski club and the First Parish Church. Profits from food tents are “incredibly important,” with the proceeds turned back to help the community, said Larry Forcier of Yarmouth, a past president of the Lions Club.

On the menus were everything from fried clams, clam cakes, lobster rolls and fish sandwiches, chicken nuggets, french fries and hot dogs. Business was good. Due to the high demand, some organizations scrambled to make food runs as supplies were depleted.

The Lion’s Club’s best sellers are the clam cakes and “our Lemon Lucy,” a lemon slush, Forcier said. The Lions created the drink to compete with the “Lime Ricky” sold by the barbershop chorus. If there is to be another signature drink, “it should be ‘Lemon Lucy,’ Ricky and Lucy Ricardo,” Forcier said with a smile. Both sell by the thousands, but “Lime Ricky” is the bigger seller, Forcier acknowledged.

Chelsie DiConzo, interim director of the 55th Yarmouth Clam Festival, said coming off of a two-year hiatus “we wanted to bring the focus back to what makes this festival the festival – the community.” All of the parking and the food tents are run by local nonprofits. “It means a lot to the groups, and also they’ve been without this fundraising for two years.”

On Friday and as of midday Saturday, “it’s going amazing,” she said.

The Scouts reported their hot dogs, pizza and soda sales on Friday alone were “as much as they did the entire 2019 festival.”  That tells her that people are happy to be back. At Friday’s opening ceremonies and the parade, “everyone was there.”

The festival’s schedule for Sunday is breakfast served from 7 to 10:30 a.m., men’s and women’s professional bike races from 9 to 11:30, a diaper derby at noon, an auto show from 1 to 4 p.m., and music from 3 to 4 p.m.

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