BEALS, Maine — Clams will fly Saturday, Aug. 4, when the The Downeast Institute hosts its fifth annual Field Day at its Black Duck Cove facility in Beals.
Field Day features food, fun and entertainment from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., including tours of the Marine Education Center, where K-12 students enjoy marine biology field trips year-round. The institute’s production facility will be open so visitors can learn about ongoing efforts to raise soft-shell clams, quahogs, oysters and lobsters for stock enhancement.
Special events also will include the annual clam shell flying contest to see who can toss a clam shell the greatest distance. The winner will receive a $100 prize provided by the Maine Clammers Association. Also scheduled are a clam shucking demonstration, musical entertainment and boat rides around Western Bay, weather permitting.
The Downeast Institute serves as the field station for the marine biology program at the University of Maine at Machias, and students will act as Field Day guides for visitors.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. officially will open the institute’s new 100-by-30-foot pier that extends into Western Bay. The pier is the first of its kind in Maine and is made of seawater-resistant composite materials supplied by Harbor Technologies of Brunswick. It was designed by Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield and constructed by DeLong Marine of Brewer. The project was funded by the Maine Technology Institute.
Organizers plan to mark the route to the institute with giant lobster balloons and signs on the Beals side of the Jonesport-Beals bridge.