Clambake, Bates College Outing Club’s annual beach picnic on Popham Beach, scheduled for Sunday, September 17, was canceled due to Hurricane Lee. 

The club’s first event of the year, Clambake, was set to feature a lobster picnic, swimming, and an opportunity for students to make connections with club leadership and peers. However, due to extreme weather, club leaders canceled the event.

“We put a lot of thought into our decision as early in the week as we could,” said Outdoor Program Manager Shenandoah Waugh ‘26 in an interview with The Student. “We were worried about flooding on the beach and dangerous surf.” 

The cancellation had few repercussions for the club. “Luckily, we were able to cancel everything without too much cost to us,” Waugh added. The 150 students signed up to go were refunded through Eventbrite. 

According to Waugh, students expressed disappointment at the unexpected cancellation. “People were bummed that it got canceled, especially since the weather ended up being really nice on Sunday, so people were kind of confused about why we decided to cancel because of weather.”

Phoebe Stern ‘24, who planned on attending the event, echoed this sentiment: “I’m so disappointed that clambake did not get rescheduled. It would have been my first clambake, and now I won’t have the opportunity to go since I’m a senior.”

When asked about rescheduling the event, Waugh said there likely will not be a clambake this Fall, as the event requires many resources. However, they voiced the possibility of rescheduling the event for Short Term in May. “We really would like to reschedule if we can,”  they said.

Clambake was one of many opportunities Outing Club plans to offer this Fall. The club has already hosted a trip to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park and a canoe-camping trip on Moosehead Lake. 

“We’re really excited to bring some awesome trips this fall. And dealing with Maine weather can sometimes lead to our trips being canceled. But usually we’re going to try and do everything we can to make all of our trips happen on time. Or if they do get canceled, get them rescheduled,” Waugh said.