LA FLEET WEEK® 2017 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ANNOUNCED
Vince Neil Take the Stage;Crüe’s MötleyLos Lobos, Quiet Riot, and Beefed Up Monday Schedule Includes Bridge Race & Breakfast,
‘Galley Wars’ BBQ Competition and Evening Concert Line-up
SAN PEDRO, Calif. - Aug. 16, 2017 - LA Fleet Week® 2017 returns to the LA Waterfront this Labor Day Weekend with a full line-up of entertainment, new attractions and friendly competitive events. With even more planned for the Monday holiday this year, the four-day event’s action-packed schedule has just been released at www.lafleetweek.com.
“This year’s LA Fleet Week has something for everyone to enjoy,” said Jonathan Williams, executive director of the LA Fleet Week Foundation. “We’ve also added many new attractions on the Labor Day holiday so that families can come to the LA Waterfront and make a full day of it.”
The San Pedro Historic Business District officially kicks off festivities Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. with a Hollywood-themed welcome party in downtown San Pedro. Free and open to the public, the party will celebrate the thousands of active service members from the visiting military ships arriving throughout the week.
In line with its mission to honor the nation’s military, this year’s LA Fleet Week will feature even more military equipment displays and demonstrations than last year’s inaugural event. There will also be a U.S. Bank Veterans Village, Sailor Bar on the Battleship IOWA, and aerial search-and-rescue demonstrations throughout the weekend. Free public tours of visiting military ships will take place daily, but available only on a limited, first-come, first-serve basis for those without previously booked online reservations.
New this year will be displays and booths highlighting first responders and emergency/disaster preparedness at the LA Fleet Week “Humanitarian Village.” Participants include the Los Angeles Emergency Management Division, Los Angeles Police Department, MySafeLA, and Team Rubicon USA, a disaster response veterans service organization. Returning by popular demand will also be the STEM Expo, an interactive and fun way to expose children of all ages to science, technology, engineering, and math.
A two-day rivalry basketball tournament between the City of Los Angeles and U.S. Military presented by Ariza Elevated Game Awards is slated for Saturday and Sunday, which is free and open to the public. For the Labor Day Monday holiday, organizers have added a full day of activities, starting first with the “Conquer the Bridge” race across the Vincent Thomas Bridge and a celebratory Victory breakfast for race participants. Later in the afternoon, a ‘Galley Wars’ culinary competition among cooks representing the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps and Royal Canadian Navy, which is also free and open to the public. The cook-off judging panel includes celebrity chefs Robert Irvine, Mei Lin, and Steve Samson. After an evening of popular tribute bands, British rockers The Babys take the main stage to close out the four-day celebration.
Throughout the weekend, LA Fleet Week will also feature free performances by a variety of entertainers and musical acts, including the Bob Hope USO. Other evening headliners include rock band Quiet Riot, followed by Dos Lobos on Friday. Saturday night’s concert will feature rocker Vince Neil, lead vocalist of Mötley Crüe, followed by a fireworks display presented by the Annenberg Foundation. Country rockers Shannon Rae and Brent Payne take the main stage on Sunday night.
LA Fleet Week is a U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard tradition, in which active military ships recently deployed overseas dock in a variety of major cities for one week. In November 2015, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, U.S. Navy officials and the Port of Los Angeles announced that Los Angeles had been selected as an official Fleet Week market for the U.S. Navy. Last year’s inaugural event drew more than 200,000 people.
LA Fleet Week major sponsors include American Airlines, Andeavor, The Annenberg Foundation, Bob Hope USO, Clyde & Company, Delta Airlines, East West Bank, F&M Bank, Liberty Creek Wines, NBCUniversal, UPS and US Bank. Providing overall leadership and guidance for the event is the LA Fleet Week Leadership Council, comprised of community leaders in various sectors who are dedicated to supporting and advancing the mission of the annual LA Fleet Week event.
In addition to the LA Fleet Week website where visitors can get event information and sign up for email updates, event developments are also being announced on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as @LAFleetWeek, or can be tracked on social media using #LAFleetWeek2017.