A taste of Long Beach at the clam fest<\/p>\n
Published 12:07 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2026<\/p>\n
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The 2026 tourist season on the Long Beach Peninsula kicks off the weekend with the Razor Clam and Shellfish Festival, a longtime tradition celebrating the area\u2019s seafood and culture. The long running festival will be held April 17 and 18 at the Veteran\u2019s Field, 111 3rd St. SE. F<\/p>\n
As every year, the festival\u2019s headline event is the fritter cook-off. The clam chowder taste-off will pit local restaurants against each other in a creamy showdown for the prestigious Best Chowder Trophy. \u200bAmateur chefs will compete for cash prizes in a parallel chowder cook-off, building on last year\u2019s contest, which, said event organizer Brittany Black, \u201cwas one of the best that we\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experienced clammers will teach razor clam digging lessons on the beach. Participants of all ages can win cash prizes for the biggest or smallest clam harvested. Visitors can also look forward to an oyster shucking contest, a fresh Dungeness crab boil as well as a slew of activities for children. And, event organizers also remind visitors to complete their experience with a selfie next to the Giant Squirting Clam in downtown Long Beach.<\/p>\n
The festival has grown over the years, to include \u201cmore options for people to be able to taste all that the peninsula has to offer,\u201d said Black, who is also the director of the event\u2019s main sponsor, the Long Beach Merchants Association, which \u201cexists to promote tourism, improve the economic climate, and promote local activities that will stimulate business,\u201d according to its website. \u201cIt started out as more of a razor clam festival, and now it\u2019s turned into quite the shellfish festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event will also see expanded lineups of artisans and food vendors as well as live music performances.<\/p>\n
Another addition is made possible by nature\u2019s favor: with a forecast of exceptional negative tides, which are especially conducive for clamming, organizers are adding Sunday to this year\u2019s event calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is really a fortunate opportunity,\u201d said Black. \u201cWith it being the best tide of the season we want to make sure people can get out there and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event is expected to draw in excess of 1,400 visitors, with some fifty volunteers assisting in the production, from taking tickets to cooking crab. According to first-time volunteer coordinator, Marti Lindhorst, \u201cmostly they\u2019re locals who live and love being here and who are interested in assisting to make this event another success.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival\u2019s history dates back to 1940, when the people of Long Beach claimed to have made the world\u2019s largest clam fritter, containing 200 pounds of razor clams, in the world\u2019s then-largest frying pan. In its current iteration, running since 2014, the fritter is made in a refurbished replica pan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really looking to embrace the history of clam digging and the festival,\u201d said Black. The festival \u201cis pretty great for just showing and embracing everything that we have to offer here. It\u2019s just a great atmosphere to have down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival ticket, available online, includes clam chowder samples of each restaurant, a beverage, vintage postcard, custom magnet, voting ballot, and a 2026 tide book.<\/p>\n
For details, visit: longbeachmerchants.com<\/p>\n
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