46th Yarmouth Clam Festival a hot ticket

YARMOUTH — Twenty dollars bought Brian Peters of Woods Circle three raffle tickets and, ultimately, a new car at the 46th annual Yarmouth Clam Festival.

Peters, an 11-year resident of the town, said he has never won something as big as a new car. He said he bought three tickets for $20 dollars because it was the best deal.

“I’ve been to a few conferences and won an umbrella, but nothing like this,” he said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Festival Director Mark Primeau said it was fitting that a local resident won the car.

“We couldn’t have written this any better,” he said.

That went for festival as a whole, too, which Primeau said was a great success.

The weather was beautiful, the musicians were a hit, the bike race was successful, the L.L. Bean Kid Zone was well attended and the artists and craftsmen sold a lot of items, he said.

Laurie Cornwall, president of the Royal River Chorus, said the weather was perfect – hot, but not too hot, so people still wanted to eat fried clams.

“It was a great weekend for us,” she said. “This is our biggest fundraiser and we make most of our budget at the festival. We don’t have final numbers yet, but since clam prices went up, we hope to make as much as we did last year.”

Roger Snow of the Yarmouth Lions Club said the weather was outstanding, but when he worked the booth on Sunday, when temperatures and humidity rose, the crowd seemed to shrink.

“I personally thought there was a noticeable reduction,” he said.

Primeau said when the weather is too hot, people tend to slow down, but from what he could tell, the numbers are on par with previous years.

“It was always busy, but never chaotic,” he said. “(The festival) is a big animal and the the volunteers were incredible. It wouldn’t be possible without the sponsors and volunteers.”

Police Lt. Dean Perry said the weekend went off without incident. There were no major accidents or injuries, he said.

“Overall, it was a very favorable festival,” he said.

A portion of proceeds from online raffle ticket sales went to support local nonprofit organizations and the Clam Festival general fund. The Chamber of Commerce partnered with New England Ford Dealers to provide the 2012 Ford.

Primeau said they expected to generate about $10,000 in ticket sales, although as of Tuesday the total proceeds had not been counted.

Peters said he and his wife have two cars, and need to figure out what to do now that they have a third.

“My 15-year-old daughter starts driver’s ed soon,” he said. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

Amy Anderson can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or aanderson@theforecaster.net. Follow her @amy_k_anderson.

Sidebar Elements

---

Susan Mathews, left, and Patty Peters, both from Portland, sample fried and steamed clams Saturday at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.
The Yarmouth Fire Department team begins the Firefighters Muster with a winning sprint and finished as the overall winner of the event on Sunday at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.Sarah Glidden of Yarmouth has her face painted by Dinah King of the Yarmouth High School Playmakers Drama Club on Saturday at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.A young visitor to the Yarmouth Clam Festival gets a view from above the crowd on Sunday.
Norm Karkos of WMTW shucks clams while his partner Shannon Moss, right, and master of ceremonies Phil Harriman watch his technique Saturday at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. The Channel 8 duo repeated as clam-shucking champs.

Yarmouth resident Brian Peters, left, was the winner of a 2012 Ford in a Clam Festival raffle. The winner was announced Sunday, July 17, by festival Director Mark Primeau, right. 

Copy the Story Link