Featured image: Steamer the Clam poses with the athletes at the Kids’ Fun Run during a previous Yarmouth Clam Festival in Yarmouth, Maine.

Photo credits: Yarmouth Clam Festival

If you’re looking for something to do with lots of family fun, don’t miss the Yarmouth Clam Festival the third weekend in July. Games, contests, live entertainment, a carnival, and a parade are just the beginning of the festivities in this coastal town between Portland and Freeport, Maine.

This year’s festival is Wednesday-Sunday, July 17-21. Here’s what’s in store every day.

Wednesday, July 17

This year’s festival kicked off with free performances at the Yarmouth Summer Arts Series in Royal River Park, while the kids experimented with fun projects at Mad Science.

Thursday, July 18

The fun continues with YARM-OPOLY! at the Yarmouth History Center. It’s an oversized Monopoly-style game featuring historic photos and facts about Yarmouth. If you miss YARM-OPOLY! today, you can play either tomorrow or Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

This afternoon from 3 until 7 p.m., the Yarmouth Chamber hosts an extended farmer’s market with live music at 317 Main Street. Many vendors are offering specials as a thank-you to the community for its support.

Friday, July 19

Friday marks the official opening of the festival with a ceremony on the Memorial Green by Boy Scout Troop #35 and the Downeasters at 10 a.m. The carnival starts at the same time.

If your kids are 12 or younger and they want to participate in the Fun Run on Saturday, pre-register them and pick up the race package at the memorial green from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Pre-registration closes five minutes before the Fun Run.

Steamer the Clam will appear off and on all day Friday through Sunday. Maybe you can catch him long enough to snap a photo.

Other Friday activities include Artascope’s Free Art Expo for all ages, where you can experience the stress-relieving effects of crating art, and a pie eating contest at the Kids’ Area on the Library lawn. The Clam Festival Parade starts at 6 p.m. This year’s grand marshal is Barry Williams from The Brady Bunch.

And there’s live music on in two tents throughout the weekend. Listen while munching on clams, lobster rolls, and homemade pies and washing it down with a lime rickey.

Here’s the music schedule for Friday.

Memorial Green Tent

• noon—Blown Off Course (acoustic and electric rock and pop oldies)
• 1:30 p.m.—Durango 95 (blues)
• 3 p.m.—Pretty Girls Sing Soprano (tight harmonies, rock, folk, country, bluegrass, and blues)
• 4:30 p.m.—Shanna Underwood and Wanderlost (blues-infused country folk)
• 7:30 p.m.—Los Galactacos Tex Mex (mariachi, ranchero, old-time country, Appalachian folk, Classic American Songbook, and more)
• 9 p.m.—Why Whisper (classic and current tunes, along with some originals)

NYA Tent

• 11:30 a.m.—Heaven Can Wait (classic rock and blues)
• 1 p.m.—Downeast Soul Coalition (blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and funk)
• 3 p.m.—Keegan Country (country and classic rock)
• 4:30 p.m.—The MisAdventures (popular and obscure songs)
• 7:30 p.m.—Jimmy Judkins and the Soulcats II (blues and roots music)

Saturday, July 20

Start the day by fueling up with a flapjack and sausage breakfast at the First Parish Church or a breakfast pizza or sandwich at Memorial Green. You’ll need a lot of energy throughout, because a busy day of fun is ahead!

Pre-registration for the Kids’ Fun Run ends at 7:10 a.m., and the run starts at 7:15. Pat’s Pizza Clam Festival Classic, a five-mile road race, begins at 8 a.m. Both events start and end on Main Street at Memorial Green.

The day continues with more YARM-OPOLY!, Artascope’s Free Art Expo, interactive lighthouse keeper storytelling, magic and mad science shows, a sing-along, a K9 demonstration by local police officers, and fireworks.

Competitions on Saturday include the Firefighter’s Muster and clam shucking contests featuring amateurs, professionals, and local celebrities.

Live music continues throughout the day in both tents.

Memorial Green Tent

• 3 p.m.—Moore & Moran (acoustic mix of originals, forgotten favorites, and lesser-known classics)
• 6 p.m.—Kevin Midgley Players (blues)
• 7 p.m.—Pan Fried Steel (Calypso steel drum music)
• 9:30 p.m.—Dream Runner (a new take on the classics)
• 7:30 p.m.—
• 9 p.m.—

NYA Tent

• 12:30 p.m.—Ellis Falls (country)
• 2 p.m.—Joint Chiefs (rock, Americana, country, folk, and rockabilly)
• 3:30 p.m.—The Downeasters Barbershop Harmony Society
• 5:30 p.m.—Gunther Brown (classic Americana and modern alternative country)
• 7:30 p.m.—The Renovators (rockin’ blues with humor, soul, and funk)
• 9:30 p.m.—Fight at the Family Picnic (funk, rock, and blues)

Sunday, July 21

Enjoy a flapjack and sausage breakfast at the First Parish Church, or grab a breakfast pizza or sandwich at Memorial Green.

Sunday’s highlights include a professional bike race that starts and finishes at Main Street by Memorial green, a kids’ fun bike ride (pre-register at Bikereg.com), a diaper derby, and a classic car show. The magic and science shows also continue.

Memorial Green Tent

• noon—Blue Hill Brass (five centuries of fun, traditional music)
• 1:30 p.m.—Memphis Lightning (blues)
• 3 p.m.—Jenny Jumpstart (acoustic folk and country)
• 4 p.m.—Onward (classic rock, folk, Americana, and blues)

NYA Tent

• 12:30 p.m.—The Wicked Good Band (Maine music and humor)
• 2 p.m.—Royal River Chorus (60-voice chorus performing barbershop-style harmonies)
• 4 p.m.—Cumberland Community Band

For more information and to download a full schedule in PDF, go to clamfestival.com.

Yarmouth is 117 miles northeast of Boston and 11 miles northeast of Portland, Maine.