LA Fleet Week in San Pedro is back, honoring nation’s 250th birthday

L.A. Fleet Week will return this week with plenty to celebrate: the nation’s 250th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of the San Pedro event, which has become the waterfront’s premier tourist draw since it debuted in 2016.

There will also be some unveilings as part of the Battleship Iowa’s National Museum of the Navy.

The main public events will take place over four days through Memorial Day. The main expo grounds, which are centered around the Battleship Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday.

A welcome party in downtown San Pedro at Sixth and Mesa streets is scheduled to take place from 5-9:30 p.m. Thursday, kicking off the long weekend ahead.

Three ships will be on hand for public tours: the amphibious assault Navy ship USS Essex (LHD 2); US Coast Guard Cutter Halibut (WPB-87340), an 87-foot Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boat stationed in Marina del Rey; and the USCGC Terrell Horne (WPC-1131), a Fast Response Cutter based in Long Beach.

Fleet Week, sponsored by the nonprofit Pacific Battleship Center, based at the World War II Battleship Iowa Museum, draws tens of thousands of people each year and has quickly risen to the top annual attraction in the port town.

This year’s Fleet Week will be active for seven days, with the earlier part of the week set aside for community projects and outings that service members will participate in before the public events formally kick off.

The four-day main event will feature the free public expo and ship tours. A new system put in place in 2025 will be back after it proved to cut down on wait times for the popular ship tours, always one of the biggest draws for the event. The new system uses a mobile phone queue and QR code, cutting last year’s wait times dramatically, organizers said in 2025.

Fleet Week’s roots go back to the late 19th century, but modern celebrations began in San Francisco in 1981 and in New York in 1982 as weeklong celebrations of the nation’s sea services.

While New York Fleet Week normally coincides with L.A.’s over Memorial Day weekend, this year, the East Coast celebration will move to July 3-8 with what is being billed as the largest parade of vessels sailing into the New York-New Jersey Harbor.

This year, the free San Pedro event will also serve as the official Los Angeles kickoff to America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary that will peak on July Fourth.

Fleet Week brings together the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard for one of the region’s first major public events aligned with America 250, billed as a national “block party,” which will honor the nation’s founding and is designed to inspire civic pride through service, history and community connection.

Throughout the week, programming will highlight themes of freedom, service, innovation and resilience.

Fleet Week will feature military equipment displays and demonstrations, aircraft flyovers on the waterfront and hands-on science, technology, engineering, math and other educational programs.

The event, which has drawn up to 100,000 people, offers a daily expo with more than 90 exhibits and family-friendly activities; live entertainment, including military bands and competitions such as Military Has Talent and Galley Wars; food trucks, beverage vendors and waterfront dining; Festival of Sail experiences and harbor attractions; and free trolley and shuttle services throughout the area.

This year, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce will also sponsor a free Waterfront Music Festival on the main stage in front of the Battleship Iowa from 4-7 p.m. Saturday.

Tours of the USS Iowa, the legendary historic World War II battleship, will also be available, with some new exhibits related to its national Museum of the Surface Navy status.

“Great Ships,” an immersive exhibit within the National Museum of the Surface Navy’s Life of a Sailor experience, features a 68-foot-long, high-definition LED wall that brings the history of the U.S. Navy’s fleet to life. The display of 15 featured ships, 90 identifier ships and 500 fleet ships highlights the power, scale and significance of surface ships throughout their 250-year history, according to the museum, with interactive elements allowing visitors to learn more and explore individual ships.

For a full schedule of ship tours, performances and community events, and parking information, go to lafleetweek.com.