The Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival seems to have the weather on its side.
Even with spring just around the corner, a day without rain is certainly no guarantee for Grays Harbor. But the third weekend in March, an important shoulder season date for drawing tourists to the coast, has produced sunshine each of the last two years.
It appears that pattern will continue this year.
A forecast of sunny skies and temps pushing into the 60s, a razor clam midday digging tides, and St. Patrick's Day are converging to usher winter out the door and welcome longer days and shorter nights.
The Razor Clam Festival and Seafood Extravaganza, headlined by a clam chowder competition, crab dinners and a live music lineup starts Friday, March 15 and continues through Sunday, March 17 at the Ocean Shores Convention Center.
Vendors, seafood and otherwise, will set up shop at 11 a.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. each weekend day, closing at 7 p.m. the first two days and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Bands will play all day Friday and Saturday.
This year, the festival added outdoor vendors, bringing the total to 40 outside the Convention Center and 60 inside, said Jessica Iliff, administrative assistant with the Convention Center.
The clam festival is one of the major events produced by the Convention Center itself, which is owned and staffed by the city. Iliff said some of the vendors are recurring between the clam fest, Sand and Sawdust chainsaw carving and Hog Wild motorcycle rally, while others are specific to seafood.
The Convention Center expects 750 people or more to attend the festival.
This year will mark the 16th annual Razor Clam Festival. A staple of the event has become the clam chowder competition. This year, seven professional contestants representing local food establishments will compete for cash prizes and bragging rights. With a $10 chowder passport, festivalgoers can sample two ounces of each chowder, then vote on who they think did it best. The competitor with the most votes will win the "People's Choice" award, while a panel of judges will pick their favorite as well.
Chowder tasting hours are during the day Friday and Saturday, with the champ crowned at 4 p.m. the second day.
If the people get tired of eating chowder, a local chef will be there to show them a dish less traveled.
At 1 p.m. on the Convention Center's main stage, Ocean Shores food blogger Suzy Sakamoto will demonstrate her new recipe for razor clams casino — a garlicky mix of veggies, breadcrumbs, bacon and clams served as an appetizer on the half shell.
"Its a very, very brand-new creative recipe that everybody should try," Sakamoto said. "I think it will be a nice change from clam chowder and a really nice appetizer to share."
The Lebanese-born Sakamoto publishes a mix of Mediterranean and Pacific Northwest catch-and-cook recipes to her website, The Perfect Tide, which has gained traction with recipes like razor clam pizza and razor clam jalapeno poppers.
Sakamoto said she will email the casino recipe to all those who attend the demonstration on Saturday.
While chefs stir clam concoctions at the Convention Center, the masses will likely be digging the critters from the sand just a few blocks away on the beach.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at the beginning of the month approved 11 days of clam digging including this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Low tides will occur at 11:08 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 1:23 p.m. on each of those days, respectively, with the first two days occuring at Copalis and the third day set for Mocrocks. Those three festival digs are preceded by three days of morning digging starting March 12 at Long Beach and Mocrocks.
"March is finally here and with it comes longer days, the switch to morning harvest, and hopefully better weather," said Bryce Blumenthal, a WDFW coastal shellfish biologist, in a press release. "This next tide series will start off with evening tides, shift halfway to early tides, and end with an added weekend of digs for the Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival."
The wildlife department and the Washington State Department of Health, the agency that ensures clams are safe to eat before each dig, will have info booths at the festival.
After steady showers and possibly a thunderstorm early in the week, the skies will part as clam enthusiasts take their shovels to the beach and vendors set up shop outside in Ocean Shores.
On the coast, the National Weather Service predicts a sunny Thursday through Sunday, with temperatures warming to a high of 61 degrees on Friday, 62 degrees on Saturday, and 58 degrees on Sunday.
Those temperatures will make for the warmest weather since October 2023, according to the NWS.
