Clam festival
drawing near
The 51st Yarmouth Clam Festival is July 15-17, with a full schedule of events. “Come Celebrate Our Good Nature” is the theme for the kickoff parade Friday night starting at 6. Saturday will feature live music, an arts and crafts show, road races, fireworks – and lots of fantastic food. The carnival on the midway opens Wednesday evening and runs through Sunday. All other festival activities start Friday at 10 a.m. A full schedule is available at www.clamfestival.com.

Due to the festival, Merrill Memorial Library will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, and reopen at 10 a.m. Monday, July 18

The Yarmouth Recycling Committee is looking for volunteers to assist at the festival’s Recycling Booth. Those at the booth will be collecting returnables, recyclables and food waste (for composting). The site will be staffed with four sorters that will separate these items.Volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts on Friday, July 15, between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 16, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 17, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A sign-up page is available www.yarmouth.me.us.

Film classics
screen in July
“When We Were Kings,” the documentary about the Ali-Forman fight in Zaire, Africa, will be the Merrill Film Society’s next offering, Wednesday, July 13, at 7 p.m., at Merrill Memorial Library, 215 Main St.

In 1966, Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title for refusing to be drafted, and he didn’t regain the title until 1974’s “Rumble in the Jungle” – what was then Zaire. “When We Were Kings” captures the fight between Ali and the younger champion George Foreman, the concert that preceded it and Ali’s wit and charm. It was praised when it was finally finished and released at Sundance in 1996, and it earned the Oscar for Best Documentary the next year.

The library’s July Monday Matinee, which screens on July 25 at 1 p.m., is the Coen Brothers comedy, “Hail, Caesar”, starring George Clooney, Josh Brolin and Scarlett Johansson. Rated PG-13, the film follows the efforts of a Hollywood studio fixer in the 1950s to keep stars scandal-free.

On Wednesday, July 27, at 7 p.m., the Merrill Film Society will screen “The Graduate,” the iconic 1967 Mike Nichols film that launched the career of Dustin Hoffman.

Farmers market
every Thursday
The Yarmouth Farmers Market operates in front of 317 Main on Thursdays 3-6 p.m. through Sept. 29. One again, 317 Main will provide live acoustic music on the porch throughout the summer and welcome non¬profit organizations into the mix to promote their initiatives. Look for updates on Facebook.

The Yarmouth Clam Festival parade is always a crowd pleaser. This year’s parade is Friday, July 15, starting on Main Street at 6 p.m.