The 10th annual LA Fleet Week will begin Friday along the Los Angeles waterfront with ship tours, military demonstrations, competitions and live entertainment.
The free four-day event, scheduled through Memorial Day, will feature public tours of active-duty U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels, along with more than 90 military and first responder exhibits, according to organizers.
Ship tours will run daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free tickets distributed through a same-day virtual queue system.
The tours include the USS Essex, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship homeported in San Diego and nicknamed “The Iron Gator.” Commissioned in 1992, the vessel serves as a rapid-response deployment ship for U.S. Marines and is capable of carrying helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft and hovercraft.
Visitors will also be able to tour the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Halibut, an 87-foot coastal patrol vessel homeported in Marina del Rey that patrols hundreds of miles of California coastline and offshore waters.
Also scheduled to appear is the U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter Terrell Horne, homeported in San Pedro and named in honor of Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, who was fatally injured during a maritime law enforcement operation near Santa Cruz Island in 2012.
Other attractions will include the return of the “Galley Wars” cooking competition featuring military culinary teams, the “Military Has Talent” singing competition, dodgeball, soccer and pickleball tournaments, aircraft demonstrations and food vendors.
Organizers said this year’s event will also include patriotic programming tied to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence as part of the broader America 250 celebration.
LA Fleet Week was established in 2016 as an annual celebration of the nation’s armed forces at the Port of Los Angeles and is organized by the Pacific Battleship Center with support from the port.
More information can be found at lafleetweek.com.