FESTIVALS & EVENTS : Newport Pier Day: It Will Surf the Area Right

After more than $2 million of sprucing up, the area around Newport Pier is ready to show itself off.

The work was actually completed last summer, but an association of local home and business owners has designated Saturday as Newport Pier Day, featuring activities including a pancake breakfast, a longboard surfing contest and live surf music by the Nomads.

Events, designed to recall Southern California’s surf heyday, include a classic car show. “We’ve got everything from a front-engine dragster to Nomads and Woodies,” said Robert Kalatschan, one of the organizers of Newport Pier Day. “We’re trying to keep that surf-era theme.”

Activities will be clustered in an area along the beachfront from the pier to 22nd Street. The area had been getting a little frayed around the edges until the renovations, which included a new plaza at the foot of the pier, new sidewalks and turn-of-the-century style lampposts. The city also built a lifeguard station and new public restrooms.

“We want to begin showcasing our new area,” said Bill Schanlou, president of the Newport Pier Assn., which is sponsoring the day’s events with Blackies Longboard Classics and a local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Organizers hope to make it an annual event.

What: Newport Pier Day.

When: Saturday, March 14, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Newport Beach, between 22nd Street and the Newport Pier.

Whereabouts: Take the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway south until it becomes Newport Boulevard; continue and follow signs to the public parking lots at the foot of Newport Pier (on McFadden Place).

Wherewithal: Free admission; refreshments will be sold and there is a charge (undetermined as of press time) for the pancake breakfast.

Where to Call: (714) 673-1451.