Working at the Clam Bake

I know a bunch of the other bloggers have written about the Clam Bake that happened last week. But enough really can’t be said about how much fun it is and how it really does make Bates a special place. The Clam Bake happens twice a year and is open to the whole campus and is organized ENTIRELY by the vice president of the BOC (Bates Outing Club). The event is entirely student run and though eating lobster on the beach is fun, its also fun to take part in the planning, cooking, and serving. And even though it is “student run”, Bates faculty still shows their support. For instance, last year I played bocce ball on the beach with one of the Deans.

This year I volunteered to help cook/boil the lobsters (“clam bake” is a bit of a misnomer, we actually just eat boiled red lobsters and only a few clams). We cooked just less than 300 lobsters, grilled 200 beef patties, and consumed countless gallons of cowslaw. It was a feast and everyone was happy. Some people played soccer on the beach, others read in the sun, some chatted happily in the shade, and the most ambitious went surfing.

As a rule, every time I go to the ocean I have to get in. This years clam bake was no exception. Though my buddies and I knew that the water on the Maine coast can be the coldest in May, we went in with out hesitation. Was it freezing? Yes. Do I regret it? No…… it’s Short Term…. there are no regrets.

The pictures tell the whole story…..

-Graham