Dig Or No Dig, Long Beach Razor Clam Festival Slated for April

It’s fun to dig for razor clams but if that isn’t possible, you can still celebrate them! The Razor Clam Festival returns to Long Beach for a lively weekend of food, foraging, fun competitions and entertainment. Activities will take place in downtown Long Beach, Washington, Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, with digging along the entire 28-mile span of wide, sandy beach pending state approval.

Keep your fingers crossed that there will be digging
for Razor Clams this season.

Festival highlights include the ever-popular Clam Chowder Taste-Off (Saturday, 1-3PM, Long Beach Elks Club) with samples cooked up and served by local restaurant chefs to ticket holders, who vote for the prized “Best Chowder” award, and the Clam Fritter Cook-Off (Saturday, 3-5PM, Veterans Memorial Park), where Ilwaco High School Culinary Arts Program students vie for top recognition awarded by a panel of Tom Douglas restaurant chefs.

The Amateur Chowder Competition offers twelve home chefs the chance to compete for cash prizes and the highly sought out title “Best Homemade Clam Chowder” as judged by chefs from Tom Douglas restaurants. The competition takes place at the Long Beach Elks, on April 29, from 11AM to noon.

Other festival events include the following:

•       Clam Digging and Clam Cleaning Lessons both days. Registration is at www.longbeachrazorclamfestival.com/free-razor-clam-digging-lessons/;

•       Clam Contests, April 29, 8AM-noon, Dennis Company, Long Beach, including free samples and prize drawings by manufacturers of clam-digging tools;

•       Oregon Mermaids storytelling, face painting, photo ops and more, April 29, 11AM-2PM, Long Beach Train Depot;

•       Street entertainment including Dennis Duck, the Beard’s Hollow Pirates and Clam Bathing Beauties;

•       North Jetty Brewing Beer Garden & Un-Clammy Foods, April 29, 3-8PM, Veterans Memorial Park.

“The Clam Guy,” David Berger, author of the soon to be released Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest (due out in July, University of Washington Press) will attend as an honorary guest.

Expanding options for things to see and do, the Saturday Market at the Port of Ilwaco will open for a season preview, April 29 from 10AM to 4PM. In Long Beach, the Giant Squirting Clam and World’s Largest Clam Pan provide the perfect souvenir-photo backdrop.

Headquarters for the event is the Long Beach Elks Lodge where free coffee, updates, festival keepsakes including sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, hats and more will be available both days.

Long Beach ranks among the best places to dig for razor clams with a vast digging area, easy beach access, the gentle slope of the shoreline and other favorable conditions.

For additional clamming information and regulations, please contact the Dennis Company at 360.642.3166 or visit WDFW at www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/.

For lodging (early reservations suggested) and destination information, visit www.funbeach.com or call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400

Information courtesy: Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau