Here’s your first look at the new Pismo Beach Pier

It’s finally here. After being closed for more than a year, the reopening of the Pismo Beach Pier is just around the corner.

The pier will reopen on Saturday morning, as part of the city’s annual Clam Festival festivities.

Just after the parade ends at 11:30 a.m., attendees will be invited onto the first diamond of the pier for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a Pierfest VIP celebration at noon. The VIP event also celebrates Giuseppe’s Cucina Italiana, which reopened in March after a fire shut down the iconic restaurant for two years.

Tickets for the VIP celebration are $40 and available at classiccalifornia.com.

The Pismo Beach Pier closed in March 2017 as part of a $8.7 million overhaul of the aging structure.

At the time, city officials said there were wooden boards on the structure that had not been replaced since the pier was built in 1928, while many of the wooden pilings and supports had eroded underwater.

Other Clam Festival events include the annual Wine Walk at 5 p.m. Friday, Esteem Surf Co.’s 80’s Surf Showdown at 8 a.m. Saturday and the parade at 10 a.m. Saturday. Sunday’s festivities include a clam dig for kids at 11 a.m. and a clam chowder contest at noon.

Live music, a kids zone, food trucks and vendors will be in the downtown Pismo Beach area from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For information about the Clam Festival, visit www.pismoclamfestival.

This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 3:47 PM.