New This Year: Veterans Art Exhibit, Military-First Responder Softball Tournament, Veterans Day Parade and Post Parade Concert
San Diego CA— Fleet Week has a long history in San Diego, from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet” gracing the city’s shores in 1908 to more than 100 ships visiting “America’s Finest City” in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition. Now, home port to 57 U.S. Navy ships, three major Marine Corps bases, and a robust Coast Guard element, San Diego is no stranger to the sea services, but the opportunity to get a public, up-close look at the military forces in the county is a rare occurrence, happening only a couple of times each year.
From Nov. 4 to 12, the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation will partner with the military, the Veterans Day Parade Organization, and the Port of San Diego to host Fleet Week San Diego. The nine-day event kicks off with a sixteen team softball tournament between teams of first responders from the cities around the Bay and military teams from the bases in the area, and wraps up with a golf tournament for the enlisted service men and woman who serve America each and every day.
“San Diego is definitely a military town,” said Gordon Rutherford, 2019 Fleet Week San Diego President. “But San Diegans and visitors to our city really don’t often get a chance to meet the people and see the technology they use to defend the United States and our way of life. We’re proud of the work our military men and women perform, and Fleet Week is a great way to honor their service!”
More than 20,000 visitors attended Fleet Week festivities in 2018, learning about Marine Corps field combat gear and touring the USS Harpers Ferry and USCGC Mellon. In addition to ship tours and Marine Corps static displays, the popular Innovation Zone and Coast Guard Open House returns to Fleet Week 2019 along with the addition of a Veterans Art Exhibit and the Veterans Day Parade.
Mikki Marie Kimbrell, who attended last year’s Fleet Week, said, “What an amazing night! Highly recommend attending Fleet Week events.”
Other activities scheduled for this November include the Enlisted Recognition Luncheon hosted by Sea World, Student STEM Days sponsored by Lockheed Martin, a Military Family Day, and concerts featuring Tim Hurley and Coffey Anderson.
For more information about upcoming events, visit https://fleetweeksandiego.org/events/.
Schedule of Events
- Fleet Week Softball Tournament, Nov. 4-9
- Navy Kickoff Reception, Nov. 6
- Enlisted Recognition Luncheon, Nov. 6
- Fleet Week/SDMAC Breakfast, Nov. 7
- Innovation Zone VIP Reception, Nov. 7
- Student Stem Days, Nov. 7-8
- Innovation Zone, Nov. 8-9
- Veterans Art Exhibit, Nov. 8-11
- Military Ship Tours, Nov. 8-11
- Happy Hour Featuring Tim Hurley, Nov. 8
- Military Family Tailgate & Football Classic, Nov. 9
- Coast Guard Open House, Nov. 10
- Military Family Day, Nov. 10
- Veterans Day Parade, Nov. 11
- Post Parade Concert Featuring Coffey Anderson, Nov. 11
- Enlisted Golf Tournament, Nov. 12
About Fleet Week San Diego
Fleet Week San Diego is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation created by community and business leaders to honor and celebrate the men and women of the military through public events and alliances that support and thank these heroes. The Chamber of Commerce gave birth to Fleet Week San Diego in 1997 and by 2001 the event had grown into a nonprofit California Public Benefit Corporation. By expressing its support for the contributions made by the sea services to the many communities of the greater San Diego region, Fleet Week San Diego helps to maintain the vision of San Diego as a patriotic, pro-military city.