The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will display its hopper dredge, the Wheeler, during Navy Week NOLA, bringing to 11 the number of vessels that are scheduled to visit this month. Seven days of free events begin April 17, as the sea services kick off four years of international events tied to the War of 1812 bicentennial.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge Wheeler
The 408-foot Wheeler, which of late has been dredging the lower Mississippi River, was recently added to the line-up, said Mark Romig, who chairs the city's planning committee.
U.S., British, Canadian and French warships also will visit the Port of New Orleans during the week, which is capped off April 22-23 by an air show over Lake Pontchartrain featuring the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.
The Blue Angels, which performed last year at the N'Awlins Air Show at the Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, rarely visit the same city two years in a row.
The vessels, which will be occupying dock space along the river's east bank from the criuse ship terminal just below the Crescent City Connection to the Poland Avenue Wharf, will be open for public tours.
The air show will be based at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, and the afternoon performances will be just to the east of the airport in an area roughly centered on the UNO Lakefront Arena.
Admission to the air show and tours is free.
The flagship for the port visit is the 844-foot USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship that, with its flight deck, resembles a small aircraft carrier. The Wasp is due to arrive April 17 and will dock at the Julia Street Wharf.
The Coast Guard's tall ship Eagle is one of three such vessels that will dock at Woldenberg Park.
About 3,000 U.S. and foreign sailors will be in New Orleans during the week.
Among the public events planned is a panel discussion on the War of 1812 at by the Historic New Orleans Connection in the French Quarter, and a cook-off in Woldenberg Park, in which culinary specialists from each of the visiting vessels will compete during event in which New Orleans chefs John Besh and John Folse are emcees.
The non-public events include an invitation-only affair at Gallier Hall, in which Mayor Mitch Landrieu welcomes the commanding officers of the vessels to New Orleans, and a gala at the National World War II Museum.
The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are hosting the events to mark 200 years since the War of 1812, often called the second war of independence the then 30-year-old nation fought with Great Britain. The war was largely a naval one.
Events similar to what's planned for New Orleans will be held in other cities during the next four years. The events end in New Orleans in 2015, the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans, which technically was fought after the war had ended
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