Great weather, food, music make ClamJam 2020 a success
It’s no secret that the outcome of any outdoor event is going to be largely dictated by the weather. Although this year the forecast predicted rain, the sun was out and the skies were clear for the recent ClamJam Seafood and Music Festival event-goers.
“I think the event is going absolutely fantastic,” said event coordinator Nathan Burman during the ClamJam. “We’re selling tremendous amounts of food. The people are having a lot of fun. All I see are people enjoying themselves.”
Pat Burman, who is the owner/chairman of the annual ClamJam event, said she could not have been happier about both the weather and turnout.
“I’m excited about the sunshine,” said Burman. “The vendor turnout has been great and the gate has not stopped all day long.”
Ticket-buyers at the gate seemed to be much more than anticipated by Burman, who explained that the expectation for the weekend would be around 15,000. Although there was plenty of food for land-lovers, the seafood vendors were doing their part by showing off their expertise.
“The crawfish have been selling like crazy,” said John Morris, owner of Shrimp Po’Boys Creole Kitchen. “I flew them in from New Orleans. It’s my first crawfish boil of the season.”
Morris, who splits his residential time between New Orleans and Orlando, explaied that crawfish go out of season early in the summer and begin again in winter.
Some Pine Island businesses, such as Olde Fish House Restaurant, were happy to share some of the menu items topping their list, such as steamed stone crab and chowder.
“Overall I believe ClamJam was a successful weekend,” said Olde Fish House Restaurant owner Lisa Dence. “The weather was beautiful, there was a great crowd, and the bands were great. We did awesome sales — it was a great way to make up for a rain-out last year.”