Portsmouth Schedule of Events
PORTSMOUTH WATERFRONT HIGHLIGHTS
June 8-10th- MAP of Waterfront
FREE PARKING (FIVE locations)
FREE DAILY TALL SHIP TOURS (Friday 3-6pm, Saturday and Sunday noon-5pm)
FREE TROLLEY SHUTTLE
Continuous loop between North Landing and nTelos Wireless Pavilion traffic circle via High Street providing convenient access to events and parking (Friday 3-6pm; Saturday and Sunday noon-5pm)
FREE MUSIC (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at North Landing)
TOpSail CAFE at Ocean Marine
Friday, 3 - 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday noon - 5 pm)
Food from Roger Brown's Restaurant and Sports Bar, Brutti's and Just Cupcakes
Beverages for young and old!
Face painting, body glitter, balloons, snow cones and cotton candy Friendship bracelet and coloring tent OpSail Souvenirs
Free music by:
Friday, 3 - 6pm Stan Howard
Sat, noon - 2:15 Mike Proffitt
2:30 - 5 pm Caribanna Steel Drums
Sun, noon - 2:15 The Tiki Bar Band
2:30 - 5 pm Grace Street Jazz Project
VISITOR'S CENTER at North Landing
Extended hours, offering restrooms, souvenirs, and information
HMS BOUNTY
The HMS BOUNTY is one of the most famous ships in the world. Known for the storied mutiny that took place in Tahiti in 1789 on board the British transport vessel, the current BOUNTY, a replica, has survived to tell the tale. Built for the 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” with Marlon Brando, HMS BOUNTYsails the country offering dockside tours in which one can learn about the history and details of sailing vessels from a lost and romanticized time in maritime history. Since her debut in “Mutiny on the Bounty”, HMS BOUNTY has appeared in many documentaries and featured films such as the Edinburgh Trader in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest with Johnny Depp.
KALMAR NYCKEL
The original KALMAR NYCKEL sailed from Sweden to the New World in 1638 leaving its passengers to establish the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley, the Colony of New Sweden in present-day Wilmington, Delaware. She made a total of four roundtrip crossings of the Atlantic—more than any other ship of the era. Her first voyage to the New World left 24 settlers of Swedish, Finnish, German and Dutch descent in the Delaware Valley. Joining them was a black freedman who sailed from the Caribbean aboard her companion ship the Fogel Grip.
The present day KALMAR NYCKEL serves as Delaware’s seagoing goodwill ambassador. She was built by a group of committed citizens to be a continuing witness to the courage and spirit of those individuals who undertook the mid-winter North Atlantic crossing in 1637-1638.
GAZELA
The barkentine, Gazela Primeiro , was built in 1901 at the shipyard of J. M. Mendes in Setubal, Portugal. Her registration for the Grand Banks fishing fleet was transferred from an earlier vessel named Gazella, built in 1883. Gazela was built to carry fishermen to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Every spring she would leave Lisbon, laden with as many as 35 dories stacked on deck like drinking cups, a crew of 40 men (35 fishermen/sailors, two cooks, two mates and the captain), and a couple of apprentices. In her hold would be 90 tons of salt, which would be used for the cod fish that were caught, preserving them for the long trip home.
After a remarkably long career, Gazela's last voyage to the Banks as a commercial fishing ship was made in 1969. About the time Gazela was laid-up after her final voyage to the Banks, the Philadelphia Maritime Museum was searching for an historic sailing vessel. Word reached Gazela's owners and the following year, she was purchased for the museum by philanthropist William Wikoff Smith.
PORTSMOUTH WATERFRONT: Daily Schedules
WEDNESDAY JUNE 6, 2012
Sea and Air Parade- The Sea and Air Parade of Sail is a new event for OpSail 2012 Virginia™. It will include the International fleet of naval vessels as well as waterborne and air assets from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, Army Corps of Engineers and other government and private organizations. The Parade will highlight the importance of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and other Sea Services within our community while showcasing the Port of Virginia to our International guests. Details for the event are still being finalized, but the route will include the Parade passing through the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry, through Thimble Shoals Channel via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, past Fort Monroe in Hampton, and into downtown Norfolk along the Elizabeth River. The first ships will pass Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk at noon on Wednesday, June 6, 2012. Viewing from Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth. For more information, visit Parade of Sail Information.
FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2012
Noon- OpSail 2012 Virginia™ Parade of Sail- The International fleet of tall ships will begin arriving on Thursday, June 7, 2012. They will anchor in Lynnhaven Roads, just north of the John A. Lesner Bridge on the Virginia Beach waterfront. The Parade of Sail will begin at 7AM on the morning of Friday, June 8, 2012. The fleet will parade from the Lynnhaven Roads anchorage through Thimble Shoals Channel, past the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (between Trestles A and B) and past Fort Monroe in Hampton. From there, the ships will move through Hampton Roads and up the Elizabeth River to downtown Norfolk. The first ships in the Parade will reach Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk at noon on Friday, June 8, 2012. Ships will then proceed to their docks in downtown Norfolk, or in other Affiliate Ports, before opening to the public for tours. Viewing locations in Virginia Beach, Eastern Shore, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. For general parade updates, visit Parade of Sail Information.
3-6pm: Portsmouth Waterfront Events
- FREE tall ship tours of the BOUNTY, GAZELA, and KALMAR NYCKEL.
- FREE Tours of the USCGC WILLIAM TATE at High Street Landing.
- FREE parking after 6pm- 5 locations and FREE tall ship trolley service.
- Events featuring Colonel Crawford, Host and Guide and Elton Williams, steel drummer at High Street Landing.
- History at the Naval Shipyard Museum featuring period re-enactors, PIRATES at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum, and a LIGHTSHIP BOUNCER at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum.
- TOpSail Cafe at Ocean Marine- beverages, games, food, music and more!
- USCG War of 1812 and Old Coast Guard Museum Displays at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Museum.
- The Hill House Museum (221 North Street) will present an 1825 English basement home with original furnishings.
xtended hrs: Visitor's Center (North Landing): Food vendors, kid's carnival games, face-painting, balloons, and action characters.
6-7pm: Reggie Gist (Main Stage)
7-8:30: RaJazz (Water Stage)
8:30-11pm: The Original Rhondels (North Landing)
SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2012
Noon- 5pm: Portsmouth Waterfront Events
- FREE tall ship tours of the BOUNTY, GAZELA, and KALMAR NYCKEL.
- FREE Tours of the USCGC WILLIAM TATE at High Street Landing.
- FREE parking after 6pm- 5 locations and FREE tall ship trolley service.
- Events featuring Colonel Crawford, Host and Guide and Elton Williams, steel drummer at High Street Landing.
- History at the Naval Shipyard Museum featuring period re-enactors, PIRATES at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum, and a LIGHTSHIP BOUNCER at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum.
- TOpSail Cafe at Ocean Marine- beverages, games, food, music and more!
- USCG War of 1812 and Old Coast Guard Museum Displays at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Museum.
- The Hill House Museum (221 North Street) will present an 1825 English basement home with original furnishings.
xtended hrs: Visitor's Center (North Landing): Food vendors, kid's carnival games, face-painting, balloons, and action characters.
2-3pm: Maj*k Band (now White Lightning) on the Main Stage
3-4:30pm: Hotcakes Band on the Main Stage
4:30-6pm: Good Life Band on the Main Stage
6-7:30pm: Phazz II on the Water Stage
5pm: Virginia Symphony Uncorked at NAVAL HOSPTIAL GROUNDS- special event- for more information, visit www.discovermwr.com/vasymphony/
5-7pm: Jim Newsom Band (free to public)
7-9pm: The VIRGINIA SYMPHONY (free to public)
5pm: Wine and Tapas Tasting (ticketed event, ticket info at 396-3660)
FIREWORKS! (9:30pm)
SUNDAY JUNE 10, 2012
Noon- 5pm: Portsmouth Waterfront Events
- FREE tall ship tours of the BOUNTY, GAZELA, and KALMAR NYCKEL.
- FREE Tours of the USCGC WILLIAM TATE at High Street Landing.
- FREE parking after 6pm- 5 locations and FREE tall ship trolley service.
- Events featuring Colonel Crawford, Host and Guide and Elton Williams, steel drummer at High Street Landing.
- History at the Naval Shipyard Museum featuring period re-enactors, PIRATES at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum, and a LIGHTSHIP BOUNCER at the Portsmouth Lightship Museum.
- TOpSail Cafe at Ocean Marine- beverages, games, food, music and more!
- USCG War of 1812 and Old Coast Guard Museum Displays at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Museum.
- The Hill House Museum (221 North Street) will present an 1825 English basement home with original furnishings.
xtended hrs: Visitor's Center (North Landing)
Carbon Jam (2-5:30pm): North Landing Concert Performance
TUESDAY JUNE 12, 2012
Parade of Sail Up the Chesapeake- A new event for OpSail 2012 Virginia™ ! As the fleet of tall ships depart, they will proceed in formation out of the Elizabeth River, past Fort Monroe in Hampton and turn northward in the Chesapeake Bay towards their next port of call in Baltimore, MD. The fleet will maintain a speed of six knots, passing Smith Point at the mouth of the Potomac River around sunset (about 9PM) on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Recreational boaters, yacht clubs and charter vessels are encouraged to participate in the Parade by sailing alongside the fleet as they make their way northward. This will offer a unique opportunity to see the tall ships in their natural environment - at sea. Boaters are encouraged to check this website regularly to learn more about the Parade and look for informational brochures on small boat safety and navigational restrictions specific to OpSail 2012 Virginia™ . Viewing locations in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck, Eastern Shore. For more information, visit Parade of Sail Information.
For more information, call Portsmouth Visitor Information at 757-393-5111
