Maine’s Julia Gagnon is the Grand Marshal of the Yarmouth Clam Festival

Maine's Julia Gagnon will be the grand marshal of the Yarmouth Clam Festival parade.

One of Maine's most popular parades is joining forces with one of Maine's most popular singers, Julia Gagnon of American Idol. In case you just woke up from a coma, she finished 7th in the show's most recent season. I have no idea who won, because once Julia was out, I stopped watching.

The 57th Annual Yarmouth Clam Festival starts July 19

Julia Gagnon was announced as the grand marshal on the Yarmouth Clam Festival Facebook page. Julia graduated from North Yarmouth Academy, and it makes perfect sense that she's the headliner of this year's parade. The theme for this year's festival is "Pop Culture Phenomena", and Julia is pretty much the definition of pop culture phenomena!

How soon is too soon to leave my chair for the Yarmouth Clam Festival parade?

One of the things you learn about the Yarmouth Clam Festival is that those who come to watch the hours-long parade take it seriously. People put chairs out weeks in advance. Sometimes, Maine's early summer weather doesn't treat those chairs very nicely, and throws them all around. In 2023, the Yarmouth Police Department had to ask people to lay the chairs down so they don't end up in the street.

Hopefully, this year's weather will be better than last year's for the 57th annual Yarmouth Clam Festival, happening Friday, July 19, through Sunday, July 21.