Ships Heading To Baltimore For Sailabration

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Right now, ships from all over the world are on the way to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It's all part of the Star-Spangled Sailabration, a major event marking the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The excitement is building.

Jessica Kartalija has more on the final preparations for Wednesday's festivities.

It only took 200 years to plan this event. The entire harbor will be filled with ships from around the world.

Sailing into Baltimore's Inner Harbor are tall ships from around the world. The first will arrive Wednesday morning.

"There's a fleet of 40-some ships starting to come up the bay and we're going to have arrivals of ships as early as 8 o'clock in the morning and going into the afternoon," said Michael McGeady, Sail Baltimore's vice president.

The arrival commemorates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and the start of a weeklong maritime and air festival.

"Great partners from Great Britain and Canada for a special ceremony to observe not the start of the war 200 years ago but to observe two centuries of peace. It was the end of the war that marked the beginning of two centuries of peace between these three great nations of the world," said Bill Pencek, 1812 Bicentennial Commission.

Visitors can board the ships at the Inner Harbor, Fells Point and north Locust Point. A Sailabration village is being set up around the harbor so families can learn about the history of the city and our country.

It doesn't stop there. There will be all sorts of adventures set up around the Inner Harbor. Anywhere you go, you can check out the ships and take part in the fun. The best part? It's free.

Stay with WJZ for complete coverage of our proud history. Jessica Kartalija and Denise Koch will report from the Inner Harbor Wednesday at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. as we celebrate the Star-Spangled Sailabration.