Paddleout ceremony scheduled for Saturday

Friends of a local homeless man — whose story of battling alcoholism helped others deal with addiction — will be performing a paddleout ceremony off the Newport Pier on Saturday in his memory.

Mark David Allen, 50, died last week in Newport Beach after decades of struggle and living on the city’s streets.

Allen was arrested more than 500 times in Orange County alone, and over the years allowed a Newport Beach custody officer to videotape his story in and out of jail. The officer, David J. Sperling, turned the footage into a documentary, “Drunk in Public,” which has been used by rehab homes across the country.

Sperling and others will be at Newport Pier from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to share memories of Allen.

—Joseph Serna

Twitter: @JosephSerna