Dust off those beach chairs and get your sunscreen ready! Summer is here and Cape Codders can look forward to 80 days of sunny beach weather according to “Doug” the Quahog.
The Cape’s beloved hard-shelled mollusk “Doug”, gave his summer weather prediction on Monday June 22 at the 7th Annual Cape Cod Quahog Day. Emmy award-winning 7News TV reporter Nicole Oliverio, emceed the event, and she eagerly shared Doug’s sunny prediction for the 2015 summer season.
The annual tradition has become a rite of passage into summer for Cape Codders. Kicking off the summer season, the region’s official Quahog tells us how many days of beach weather we have to look forward to during the summer season on Cape Cod.
Sound familiar yet? It should. Think Groundhog Day. Think Punxsutawney Phil.
This year’s event took place at the Flying Bridge Restaurant overlooking scenic Falmouth Harbor, and in traditional style, Doug and his human sidekick, Johnny Quahog aka The Secretary General of Quahog Republic, made an impressive arrival aboard a Patriot Party Boats vessel, which was escorted into the harbor by a Falmouth Harbormaster boat. Surrounded by their Quahog Security Detail, a team of black-suited men armed with clamming rakes, Doug and Johnny joined the waiting crowd dockside. And like Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day, during his “Prognostication Ceremony” Doug secretly whispered his weather prediction to Johnny Quahog, reportedly the only human able to translate the secret quahog bi-valve language.
The announcement of 80 days of sunny beach weather was met with raucous cheers from the crowd, and after the ceremony, the group continued the celebration over complimentary chowder provided by the Flying Bridge Restaurant, while posing for photos with Doug and Johnny.
The annual Cape Cod Quahog Day event was conceived by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce in 2009, after years of fielding calls from people asking what the weather would be like months ahead of their pending vacation.
Photo – pictured from Left to Right: Ted “Lead Dog” Murphy, Doug’s Security Detail member; Nicole Oliverio, 7News TV Reporter; “Doug” the Quahog; Johnny Quahog aka The Secretary General of Quahog Republic; Thomas “T-Bone” Hughes, Doug’s Security Detail member
