April 13 – Maritime Voices at U.S. Navy Memorial

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Photo Credit: Jeff Malet for the U.S. Navy Memorial

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An annual tradition with maritime music, water from the seven seas, and navy bean soup!

The Naval Heritage Center hosts its annual “Blessing of the Fleet” each spring at the beautiful and majestic Navy Memorial Plaza. Passed down through generations of sailors, fishermen, merchant mariners and navies around the world, this centuries-old ceremony is intended to safeguard Navy ships and fishing vessels and their crews from the danger of the seas through a traditional blessing given at the water’s edge. In this version of the ceremony, waters brought in from the world’s seven seas and Great Lakes are poured into and mingled with the waters of the fountains on the Plaza.

Come for the colorful ceremony with preliminary music by the Washington Revels Maritime Voices and the U.S. Navy Band, followed by Navy Bean soup and a full afternoon performance by Maritime Voices, featuring a program of American maritime music in honor of this year’s ceremony theme, “The American Sailor.” The music will start on the Navy Memorial Plaza with Maritime Voices from 12:30-12:45, followed by the Navy Band from 12:45-1:00, the main ceremony at 1:00, Navy Bean soup in the adjacent Naval Heritage Center (with informal singing by Maritime Voices) from 1:45 to 2:15, and Maritime Voices’ full program from 2:15 to 3:15 or 3:30.

MORE INFO: Navy Memorial event website

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DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 13, 2019 from 12:30-3:30 pm. Maritime Voices performs from 12:30-12:45, between 1:45-2:15, and from 2:15-3:30).
LOCATION: U.S. Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20004 <view map>
TICKETS: Free and open to the public.
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