May the best clam win! The East Hampton Town Trustees’ 34th annual Largest Clam Contest happens on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station Museum.
The digging window opened on Sunday and remains open until the contest begins. Town residents with a valid shellfish license entering the largest hard clam harvested from areas certified for shellfish in each of Accabonac Harbor, Napeague Harbor, Lake Montauk, and Three Mile Harbor have been asked to take entries to the contest between 8 a.m. and noon. Parents may enter clams for their children between ages 4 and 14. Parents and guardians must write their name, telephone number, and child’s age on the entry form, which will be available at the contest and in advance at the trustees’ office at the Lamb Building on Bluff Road in Amagansett. There is a $1 entry fee per clam, and only one clam per contestant may be entered.
There will also be a clam chowder contest. Contestants should take their Manhattan or New England-style entry in a 32-ounce container to the contest no later than noon on Sunday. It must already be heated as it will go into a water bath to be kept warm until judging. Chowders will be scored on a scale of 1 to 10 based on appearance, body, balance of ingredients, and depth of flavor. A panel of judges will sample entries, with scores determined by a cumulative score of all judges.
Prizes donated by local merchants and restaurants will be awarded for the largest clam from each harbor and for the largest overall entry, as well as for the winning chowder entry. The day will also feature free clams on the half shell and other delicacies, crafts, an exhibit of live species hosted by the town’s shellfish hatchery, music by the Lynn Blue Band, and face painting for children. The East End Classic Boat Society will display and sell tickets for an annual raffle boat, with the raffle to happen at the society’s annual open house in December.
The museum will be open and tours will be offered. Members of the East Hampton Middle School’s Do Good, Be Good Club will be on hand.
In an effort to ensure that all attending can enjoy the food offerings, this year four tickets per person will be distributed free for clams on the half shell and clam chowder, with additional tickets offered at $5 each.
The contest is a community event that celebrates the Bonac tradition of clamming and serves to inform the public as to the trustees’ role in the town’s governing.
“Last year was great, the biggest celebration,” David Cataletto of the trustees said last month. “So come on down.”
