Clambake!by
Bear_MusicComment by Bear_Music: Clambake: the clam's ain't baked. Don't ask em why they call it that. The clams are steamed and served in the shell, with drawn butter to dip. A fire is built on top of stones in a hole in the sand and tended for hours. Then the embers are raked away, seaweed is laid down over the stones, metal latticework over the seaweed, then lobsters, chicken, sausage, potatoes, corn tossed on that. All covered by tarps, and sand over that. The whole pile steams ("bakes" I guess) for an hour, then it's revealed, which is what you see here; the tail end of gathering the food.
Monumental project; over 100 lobsters, for example. 3-day party. I did 10 gallons of lentil soup and two hams for Friday night, the clambake was Saturday, Sunday morning breakfast for 60... I been doing this for 3 years now. The hosts of the party are getting on in years. This clambake has been an annual event for 35 years now. As far as we know, it's the last big, private (as opposed to commercial) clambake on the Cape.
These events used to be one of the mainstays of Cape Cod social life, with entire communities hosting them at the beginning of Autumn.
Thanks for all the comments. I barely had time to edit an image and get it in. The dark halo on the gal's head is sloppy masking. The "distortion" is the natural result of 10mm lens, circular objects at the edge get elongated.
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