The 77th annual Pismo Beach Clam Festival kicks off Friday evening and runs through the rest of this weekend.
This community tradition attracts generations of families and visitors from around the area who look forward to spending three fun days in Pismo Beach.
The annual Pismo Beach Clam Festival is a free event that will include live entertainment, food vendors, and activities for all ages.
Gordon Jackson, the Tourism and Events Director for the City of Pismo Beach, says that this event will give attendees the opportunity to get a taste of Pismo Beach.
“It’ll be a lot of fun. We have over 50 different vendors that’ll be serving all different types of local types of food. Lots of clam chowder. Splash Cafe will have a booth,” Jackson said. “We’ll have a lot of the local favorites that will be here, so you’ll get an opportunity to see all of Pismo Beach all in one weekend.”
The Pismo Beach Stewardship and Educational Program will be taking part in the big celebration and will be providing educational resources on how to keep our environment safe.
“The clams were probably the inspiration for our stewardship program as far as sustaining and preserving the environment,” said Georgina Stassi, Pismo Beach Stewardship Program Public Relations Director. “It’s extremely important for our community and for our visitors alike to understand what we need to do to keep the area pristine.”
The Clam Festival Parade kicks off Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and will begin at Price Street before making its way along Pomeroy Street.
“This year, we’re really focused on the children with the parade that starts at 10 o’clock in the morning on Saturday and ends down in the Pier Promenade next to the pier on Pismo Beach, where we have all different kinds of kid activities, fun zones for the kids, play areas,” Jackson said.
“I might be attending because we’re just walking distance to Pismo and I think it would be great just to come and just to enjoy and see what people are doing and what they love to do while they're out here. I’m glad they’re putting on a good show for all the people that visit here,” said Debi Manry, a visitor from Union City.
Unfortunately, for anyone interested in stopping by the Pismo Chamber Wine Walk or Clam Chowder Cook-Off, Jackson says those tickets are sold out.
Splash Cafe is just one of the dozen local restaurants participating in the Clam Chowder Cook-Off on Saturday which will be judged by its attendees.
“We love being part of the Clam Festival. We’ve been here for 33 years and we’ve participated in the cook-off every single year,” said Joanne Currie, Splash Cafe Owner. “It’s just so much fun to get together with the other restaurants that like to participate and of course all the people that come to town, they really enjoy kind of tasting them side-by-side and having that conversation with all the different chefs that are there.”
Proceeds from the Pismo Beach Clam Festival will go toward assisting the Pismo Beach Stewardship Program.
Click herefor a full lineup of Clam Festival events.
