09-07-2025
Vegetarian mob gangs up on Maine CLAM festival for failing to provide plant-based alternative
Angry vegetarians are grilling a coastal Maine town just days before its famous Clam Festival, taking to social media to slam organizers for completely ignoring plant-based eaters.
The waterfront town of Yarmouth is gearing up to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its annual three-day Clam Festival - the state's largest free-admission event supporting local nonprofits like schools, churches and civic groups, according to its website.
Featuring live music, crafts, carnival rides, kids' activities and parades, the festival draws over 100,000 visitors each year - but for most, it's all about the main attraction: the clams.
This year, however, the festival is facing some unexpected heat - with plant-based eaters calling out organizers for offering no options they can enjoy.
In 2022 alone, a full ton of French fries were made, 2,175 fried dough desserts were dusted with sugar and a record-breaking 217 gallons of clams were cleaned, breaded, and cooked during the event, according to the website.
Yet despite a few meatless options, some festival-goers remained unsatisfied - sparking a lively debate on Reddit over the event's lack of plant-based offerings.
On Tuesday, a user named Itsthehappyone posted a straightforward question in a Maine-focused forum questioning this: 'Yarmouth Clam Festival vegetarian options?'
'I haven't been to the Clam Fest since long before Covid and can't remember what food options look like besides the obvious,' the user wrote in the post's description.
'Anybody know of potential vegetarian options besides fries or desserts?? TIA!' they added.
The post quickly gained traction, but some passionate Maine natives fired back at the user - questioning why anyone would even ask about vegetarian options at a festival famously dedicated to clams.
Struggling to take such a concern seriously, one response to the post read: 'Omg. It's literally a clam festival. Bring your own kale I guess!!!!! Gtfo of here with that!'
'I'm sorry, this absolutely made me roar with laughter. It's a clam festival,' another said.
A third user chimed in and wrote: 'It's a clam festival. Thanks for the lol... definitely need it these days.'
Others, clearly not on board with what they called a bizarre request, chose to respond with humor instead.
'Are clams not a vegetable?' one user replied.
Another bluntly added: 'Clams are vegetarians.'
Some passionate Maine natives fired back at the user questioning why there aren't vegetarian options offered - and slammed them as to why anyone would ask about vegetarian options at a festival famously dedicated to clams (stock photo)
In a similar fashion, another user wrote: 'The bearded clams are actually vegan!'
'Maybe the shells?' joked another.
Amid the heated debate, one user mocked the vegetarian's character, accusing them of simply seeking attention.
'Kind of a stupid question,' the user responded to the meatless inquiry. 'Its a festival and other than clams, it has what you would find at most festivals.'
'It's almost as if you want to wave a little flag that you're vegetarian,' the Redditor added.
The jab appeared to provoke a reaction, as the original poster finally responded to the mounting backlash in the comments.
'For what it's worth I'm excited for the clams, maybe the Lime Rickeys even more,' they explained.
'I'm asking for a friend - it's something I never bothered to pay attention to when I've been there.'
While the post certainly caught attention - though not always positively - many users stepped up to support the vegetarian, offering advice based on their experiences as locals or frequent festival-goers.
'They had cheese pizza last year,' one person replied in the thread. '
'And fried dough. I've looked for a list of food/charities and can't find one. If worst comes to worst, Brickyard Hollow isn't far.'
A fellow plant-eater jumped in and wrote: 'Vegetarian here - didn't see anything appealing but I also didn't expect vegetarian options so I had a nice sandwich at home before we went to the parade.'
'I think you can rest assured there will be fried dough for you to eat. Beyond that? Ehhhh...' wrote another.
