Festival celebrates clams, seafood traditions
Published 1:05 am Thursday, April 24, 2025
Razor clams are a stalwart of the Long Beach Peninsula and the annual Razor Clam festival attracts visitors from all over the Pacific Northwest. LUKE WHITTAKER
Clams are at the forefront of the annual Razor Clam Festival being held on the Long Beach Peninsula April 26 and 27. LUKE WHITTAKER
There was much fun had at the oyster shucking contest at the festival last year for participants as well as onlookers. LUKE WHITTAKER
This unusual climbing opportunity was an attraction last year. LUKE WHITTAKER
Fried clams and other fishy delights are a staple of the festival. LUKE WHITTAKER
This replica of the famous “world’s largest” frying pan will be used — briefly — to cook clam fritter samples Sunday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. LUKE WHITTAKER
Crowds throng to Veterans Field in downtown Long Beach, the headquarters of the annual Razor Clam festival hosted by the Long Beach Merchants Association. LUKE WHITTAKER
A regional celebration of clams and seafood is returning to Long Beach this year for a full weekend of appreciation for the razor clam, plus chowder tasting and festivities.
And early risers will be able to dig for their own supply.
The Long Beach Razor Clam and Shellfish Festival runs all day on April 26 and April 27. It’s a chance for clam lovers to gather and share some of the freshest seafood harvested on the Washington coast.
The weekend kicks off with a clam-digging demonstration at the Bolstad Beach Approach. It’s early in the morning this year because of the tide schedule, said Stephanie Day, a volunteer coordinator with the Long Beach Merchants Association.
Volunteers bring all the necessary equipment to dig up razor clams and show people how it’s done. Anyone actually looking for their own limit of clams on the beach must have the appropriate state fishing license, of course.
Saturday’s clam-digging starts at 5:30 a.m., and a second session on Sunday is at 6:30 a.m. Those lessons are followed by tutorials on how to clean and prepare clams.
At its core, the festival celebrates the abundance of seafood the coast offers. Clams are cooked and prepared in many tasty ways for festivalgoers to try.
One of the most popular events is the restaurant clam chowder taste-off, Day said.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “People love coming and trying all of the different chowders.”
There are currently eight restaurants signed up for the cook-off, she said, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. If you can’t make it, there’s a second chowder event on Sunday where amateur chowder chefs compete in a judged contest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Clam fritter sampling is happening on Sunday afternoon, and they’re prepared using a replica of the largest fry pan, which is an important symbol of the festival’s history.
Festival events are accompanied by full days of live entertainment and vendors at Veterans Field on Third Street Southeast. The beer and wine garden runs 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Sunday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. volunteers will serve clam fritter samples cooked in a replica of the largest fry pan.
Blink and you will miss the oyster shucking contest — because the participants are so quick. This year’s contest is at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Day said the festival always gets new faces, and guests can look forward to new vendors this year. Last year’s celebration offered about 40 artisans and shops.
The Strange Tones, a Portland-based band known for their original tracks, performs on Saturday evening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The energetic group has always been a hit in regional appearances, including the Peninsula R&B Festival. Live music and DJs will control the airwaves the rest of the time.
The festival is a time-honored event in Long Beach. As far back as 1940, people gathered at the beach to dig for clams and sample chowders. Once a fritter was cooked using 200 pounds of razor clams and 20 dozen eggs.
The massive fry pan was brought out on a loan from the city of Chehalis to cook fritters in and still has pride of place in the downtown — although it’s not used for actual cooking anymore, having rusted through and needing a repair. It lives in retirement, next to the squirting clam at Fifth Street South off Pacific Avenue.
The festival is open to the public. Some events like the chowder contests are ticketed and require online signup. For tickets, log on to https://www.longbeachrazorclamfestival.com.
Another website at www.longbeachmerchants.com/razor-clam-festival has more details of the history of the festival.
