Chelsie DiConzo, left, and Betsy Peixotto of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce are a two-woman team making the Yarmouth Clam Festival happen. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

The president of the Downeasters Chorus likes the way he heard someone describe the Yarmouth Clam Festival: “It’s basically like a little pop-up Disneyland in this little small town in Maine.”

“I thought that was a great way to describe it,” Mike Soper said. “The dimensions of it are just remarkable.”

The Yarmouth Clam Festival, now in its 57th year, begins Friday and continues through Sunday evening. One of Maine’s most popular summertime traditions, it’s also a huge financial boost for some 30 nonprofit groups that are involved it.

Soper and other members of his 40-person barbershop chorus have for years run a booth at the festival serving the event’s signature beverage, the Lime Rickey. (If you stop by the booth this weekend you might catch members of the chorus breaking out into song, he said.)

Other groups are involved in selling food and wares or offer other activities. First Parish Church Yarmouth brought in some $47,000 in net proceeds last year selling pies, collectibles and antiques, according to Chelsie DiConzo, community events director for the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival.

Total gross sales from the festival have been around $400,000 in recent years, she added.

The number of volunteers participating in the Yarmouth Clam Festival has dropped significantly since the pandemic, says Community Events Director Chelsie DiConzo. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

This year, though, waning interest from volunteers has made it harder to make the whole “pop-up Disneyland” happen. The festival requires an army of volunteers, many of whom are supplied by participating organizations, like the Downeasters Chorus.

“We’re really faced with a critical shortage of volunteers, because people just aren’t participating like they used to,” DiConzo said.

Last Thursday, Yarmouth High School students Maddie MacLearn and Eliza Cote sat on the floor of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce organizing and labeling letters to send to residents to let them know about street closures that will take place during the festival.

Volunteering for the Clam Festival is a great way for them to rack up hours toward the 60 volunteer hours they need in order to graduate, MacLearn said.

Both teens said that volunteering for the festival is rewarding.

“It just helps me feel like I’m giving back to my community,” Cote said.

When asked about the decline in volunteers, they said there’s a general feeling in town that the festival isn’t what it used to be.

“Everyone’s sort of saying, ‘It’s not what it used to be and there’s not as many people who are actively taking part in it as they used to.’ So it’s hard for a lot of booths,” Cote said.

“A lot of people think it’s dying out,” MacLearn said.

In line with tradition, Yarmouth residents set up chairs over a week in advance of Friday’s Clam Festival parade to secure a good spot for viewing. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

Cote and MacLearn say they encourage their peers not to have that mindset about it.

The dip in volunteering is a nationwide phenomenon. Formal volunteer rates dropped in all age categories between 2019 and 2021, according to a recent report in the Washington Post.

“We saw the volunteerism really started to decline before COVID, and then … post-COVID it was just insane,” DiConzo said. The Clam Festival had to take two years off during the pandemic, and returned in its usual form in 2022.

But there are plenty of reasons to think that the Yarmouth Clam Festival is going strong, despite the drop-off in volunteers.

For one, the festival keeps innovating and providing new delights for the over 100,000 people it draws over three days.

This year’s festival includes some well-known faces. American Idol contestant Julia Gagnon of Cumberland (who also went to North Yarmouth Academy) will make multiple appearances, and veteran and motivational speaker Travis Mills will serve as the grand marshal in Sunday’s auto show. On top of that there will be plenty of food, drink and free entertainment.

Gagnon, the top 7 American Idol finalist, will be the grand marshal of the festival’s popular parade that starts at 6 p.m. Friday, this year with the theme “Pop Culture Phenomena.” At 7:30 p.m. that night, she’ll perform at the tent on Memorial Green.

On Saturday, Gagnon will preside over the Clam Fest Idol competition from 5 to 7:30 p.m. It’ll be Yarmouth’s spin on the classic singing competition, showcasing the talent of nine local singers and a panel of judges, including Gagnon and representatives from Yarmouth Music Boosters, Studio B Exchange, and 317 Main Community Music Center.

Then there’s all the usual fun and merriment, like the carnival and fireworks.

There are also things that DiConzo is doing to leave her mark on the festival. In 2022, she began a volunteer pilot program, where organizations that have not previously been involved with Clam Festival can help volunteer with a nonprofit or another organization that is officially taking part.

“The whole goal of that program was to get new groups in, so that they could see how the back end operations ran without having to make a capital investment,” she said. It serves as a training ground if they decide they want to become officially involved the following year.

She’s also been adamant about making sure the festival is a family-friendly experience. She’s made sure that the festival has a robust kids and family area, including adding in 2022 a sensory break tent where families can take a moment away from all the overstimulation of the festival. She’s also brought back more handicap parking this year, she said.

“We’re Maine’s largest free admission festival, and I really believe it should be accessible for all.”

For more information and a schedule of events go to clamfestival.com.