SOUTH YARMOUTH – Doug the Quahog returns to land today, the first day of summer, to make his prognostication on the number of beach days Cape Cod will see this season.
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce’s 9th annual Quahog Day begins at 2 p.m. at the Blue Water Resort in South Yarmouth.
During the ceremony, Doug will whisper his prediction to his human sidekick, Captain Johnny Quahog of Quahog Republic.
“He’s been itching to get out of his shell and tell us what the weather forecast will be and I think this year we are really eager to hear some good news,” said Wendy Northcross, the CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
Doug will be escorted by his Quahog Security Detail, a team of black-suited men and women equipped with clamming rakes.
The emcee of this year’s event is NBC Boston meteorologist Michael Page.
“Michael’s got a deep background in Vermont weather and the cold and that kind of thing,” Northcross said. “So we are hoping maybe Michael can share a little knowledge with Doug before he makes his final prognostication.”
Northcross said the winter has been kind of never-ending.
“We’re really ready to celebrate the summer with some good, warm weather and we are all crossing our fingers that we are going to hear some good news,” she said.
In its ninth year, Quahog day was created as a public relations stunt to attract the media and discuss Cape Cod, its beaches and how the weather forecast can quickly change.
“Over time, we’ve got these followers of Doug the Quahog who come to every event, get the t-shirt every year and take pictures with Doug,” Northcross said.
Northcross also believes there is some skepticism and some people are waiting for Doug to swing and miss on his forecast.
“He’s only blown it once in eight years,” she said.
The event also picks on local meteorologists who admit it is difficult to predict the weather along the seashore.
“Cape Cod’s tourism industry can live and die on a good weather forecast or a bad weather forecast,” Northcross said. “And time after time we’ve seen blown weather forecasts, especially those infamous 10-day forecasts which are kind of storytelling.”
Northcross is optimistic that the summer season will draw a high number of visitors this year.
“If the actual Memorial Day volume of people here is any indicator, I think we can anticipate a pretty strong summer season,” she said.
The Chamber has not heard any complaints from any of its members in terms of advanced bookings and the overall feel is optimism.
“Our own web traffic here at the Cape Cod Chamber has been off the charts, especially with international tourism,” Northcross said. “But we really won’t know until Labor Day.”
To listen to Doug’s official theme song, play the video below.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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