U.S. Marines pose for a photograph during Los Angeles Fleet Week in San Pedro, Calif., May 27, 2024. (Bruin Largent/U.S. Marine Corps)
SAN PEDRO, Calif. (Tribune News Service) — More than 100,000 people flooded San Pedro over the Memorial Day weekend to attend the ninth annual Los Angeles Fleet Week, according to organizers.
Those crowds showed once again that Fleet Week has become one of San Pedro’s most popular annual events.
It wasn’t a big surprise. The four-day event, after all, had a major draw, with an aircraft carrier among the ships on hand for tours for the first time in years.
Scoring a tour of the impressive USS Carl Vinson, however, wasn’t for the faint of heart, with some waiting hours. Many, though, said it was worth the wait.
“It was so worth it,” said Kathy Gooley of Panorama City, a former Los Angeles Unified school teacher. “I figure, how many people can say that they stood on the deck and below of one of the 11 active aircraft carriers currently deployed around the world?”
Others struck out, getting turned away after it was determined the ship tours were at capacity for the day.
“We did talk to some disappointed people,” said Elise Swanson, president and CEO of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce who coordinated the information booths. “These were probably the largest Fleet Week crowds I’ve worked with.”
U.S. Marines discuss equipment and capabilities with citizens during Los Angeles Fleet Week in San Pedro, Calif., May 26, 2023. (Anabel Abreu Rodriguez/U.S. Marine Corps)
Some who had been turned away on earlier days were so determined to get on board the massive carrier in the Outer Harbor that they returned before dawn on Monday, Fleet Week’s final day, to begin forming a line at 4:30 a.m., Swanson said.
On Saturday, organizers pivoted to a time-stamped ticket disbursement system, providing those in line with a designated hour time frame. That helped, said Arley Baker, senior director of communications for the Port of Los Angeles.
“By and large, people understood and they were patient,” Baker said. “Certainly some people were broken-hearted that they weren’t able to get on the Carl Vincent.”
Despite the disappointment, Baker said, “I think everyone understood we were on a first come, first serve basis.”
The demand likely stems from how rare it is to book an aircraft carrier for Fleet Week.
“It will be one for the history books,” Baker said of this year’s event. “We were the only Fleet Week (event this year) that had a carrier and it was a tremendous honor.”
Also open for tours was the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Terrell Horne and San Pedro’s World War II ship, the USS Battleship Iowa.
Beyond the ship tours, though, the four-day event offered no shortage of things to do, with displays and military equipment throughout the expo next to the Iowa and a main stage with ongoing entertainment.
Contests were held in dodge ball, music and cooking — pitting military branches against each other.
Several off-site events also took place, including 500 sailors in uniform walking across the Sixth Street Viaduct in Downtown Los Angeles on the closing day.
While in port, the crews took advantage of trips to Dodger Stadium and Disneyland.
And the weather, Baker said, was cool and close to ideal.
LA Fleet Week started out as a Labor Day weekend event but moved to Memorial Day weekend, in part, because of the better weather. Labor Day typically brings with it some brutal heat waves in Southern California.
The milder weather may be another reason for the event’s growing popularity. But this year, the still-under-construction West Harbor helped with the congestion by hosting some events, Baker said.
And next year, it might be able to help even more. That’s because by the time the 2025 LA Fleet Week hits town next Memorial Day, it’s likely that at least part of the West Harbor waterfront attraction will be open for business.
“West Harbor had some afterhour events (this year),” Baker said, “which were a big help to move people out of the expo area.”
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