Celebration of navy, armed forces comes to Halifax this week

Halifax International Fleet Week arrives this weekend.

Halifax will host a celebration of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Armed Forces this weekend.

Halifax International Fleet Week runs from Thursday to Sunday, offering ship tours, concerts and a drone light show along the harbourfront.

The event kicked off with the ringing of the bell at 11 a.m. on Thursday. It was followed by a pop-up concert with the Stadacona Band at the Queen’s Marque Courtyard.

Highlights of the weekend include:

• dragon boat race at Graham’s Grove Park in Dartmouth at 8:30 a.m. on Friday
• Navy Bike Ride at 10 a.m. on Saturday
• presentation on the First World War at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday
• Halifax Wanderers home game at the Wanderers Grounds at 3 p.m. on Saturday
• a drone light show over the Halifax Harbour at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday
• the Fleet Week Run at the CFB Stadacona at 9 a.m. on Sunday
• Last Post ceremony at the Last Steps Memorial Arch at 11 a.m. on Sunday
• a street party on Portland Street in Dartmouth from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday

Fleet Week will also offer daily tours of the HDMS Vaedderen at Pier 23, the HMCS Charlottetown at Pier 20 and the HMCS Margaret Brooke at Pier 19.

“To have the ships downtown available for tours, the Navy with different music celebration events, family friendly events, sporting events, all that type of thing, I think just brings the Navy that much closer to the community,” said Jacob French, Canadian Fleet Atlantic Fleet Commander.

“I think it’s important for us to signal to Canadians, and Haligonians here in particular, what we do to protest Canada’s interests all across the world. How busy we are all over the world and all over the globe in terms of what we’re doing.”

The event happens every two years in the city, which is home to more than 10,000 Department of National Defence and Navy employees.

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