By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON
For Grays Harbor News Group
The population of the North Coast will swell by thousands this weekend — all because of that beautiful bivalve, that most mouth-watering of meaty mollusks, Siliqua patula, the Pacific razor clam.
Two days of recreational clam digging on midafternoon low tides coincide with an expanded Ocean Shores Razor Clam & Seafood Festival at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. It’s going on today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The clam digs will be on the Copalis beach, which includes Ocean Shores, prior to the 3:43 p.m. low tide Saturday; and on the Mocrocks beach, north of the Copalis River to Moclips, on the 4:43 p.m. low tide Sunday. The beaches at Westport and points south will host digs both afternoons.
The Ocean Shores/North Beach Chamber of Commerce event celebrates Washington’s razor clam fishery, which generates $30 million to $40 million in annual economic activity. Now in its 13th year, the event is being produced for the first time by Scott Nagel, executive director of CrabFest, a major annual event in Port Angeles that last year served 16,000 pounds of local Dungeness crab.
Festival content this year has been expanded in several areas.
Food offerings feature Port Angeles’ Kokopelli Grill serving a varied seafood menu, plus pulled pork, burgers, brats and more from their sister restaurant, Coyote BBQ Pub.
Local seafood includes razor clams from Quinault Pride Seafood, oysters from Lytle’s Seafood and Taylor Shellfish, and Bennett’s Seafood Shack crab cakes.
There will also be a Tasting Room offering samples and purchase of five Olympic Peninsula wines, two beers and a whiskey.
The festival features programs designed for beginning through experienced clam diggers, including instructions and demonstrations of everything you need to know about finding, cleaning and cooking clams. There will also be a clam cleaning station outside the Convention Center.
Also new this year is the “5K Run With The Clams” Saturday morning.
Several popular and traditional aspects return this year, such as the clam chowder cooking contests with amateur and pro divisions and “Tasting Passports” for sale. Forty vendor booths will offer handmade crafts, fishing and outdoor gear and more. Fun for kids includes a giant outdoor slide, a mechanical shark, face painting, and hands-on activities.
With low tide a bit before 4 p.m. Saturday, festival organizers have planned a clam contest, followed by a party. The contest, with prizes and bragging rights for the largest and smallest clams, will take entries from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday outside the main entrance to the Convention Center. Judging will be done by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The awards will be announced inside at 5:30 to kick off the “Clamtastic Party” from 6 to 8 p.m., with food and beverages available and live music from 80 Proof Ale, a popular country/rock cover band from Seattle.
More information can be found at www.osrazorclamfestival.org.
