What Happened at Maine’s Yarmouth Clam Festival On Sunday?

One of the great things about living in Maine is the number of amazing fairs and festivals that our state hosts over the course of the summer months.

In addition to dozens of agricultural fairs, the state is home to a festival dedicated to celebrating a very unique tasting soda (Moxie), a festival focused on whoopie pies, and several festivals celebrating our favorite seafoods.

One of the most well known of these festivals is the Yarmouth Clam Festival.

The Clam Festival in Yarmouth, Maine

The event, which started as a basic clam bake in 1965, always takes place over the 3rd weekend in July.

Festivities include a parade, a carnival, and the consumption of a lot of clams!

The 2025 running of the event took place between July 18th and July 20th.

On top of being a fun way to spend a weekend, the festival is a fundraiser.  The website explains:

You can learn more about the festival on the official website for the event.

A Dangerous Storm Shuts Down the Yarmouth Clam Festival

While the weather was great for the first two days of the festival, it did not cooperate for Sunday.

According to a post of the Town of Yarmouth Fire & Rescue Facebook page, a nasty storm rolled through the area at about 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The post explains:

Today a decision was made rapidly to shut down the Carnival and other events at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. This decision is a joint decision made by the staff based on many variables. Our priority is the safety of those attending the festival. Hundreds of hours go into the planning of this annual event and it paid off today.

I’m proud of the response by staff and organizers to react quickly and effectively to prevent injuries.

On top of the damage to several area buildings, firefighters had to deal with several fires started by lightning strikes.

We are just glad that everyone was okay.