Fleet Week is booming: Blue Angels, free concerts and boat tours will delight SF this weekend

FSan Francisco’s leet week ramps up into the weekend with its annual flurry of activities capped by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron air show.

The show began on Friday and runs Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Entry is free. People just need to look up.

The weekend will also be packed with free concerts by Navy Band Southwest, the 1st Marine Division Band and the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West.

While Fleet Week is already halfway over, more than a dozen concerts were still planned for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Additionally, the Humanitarian Assistance Village will be open to the public Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Marina Green in San Francisco. The outdoor event includes demonstrations and booths from all branches of the military as well as state and local emergency services.

Visitors can learn how to prepare for disasters, meet military and civilian medical, rescue and logistics teams, touch and climb military equipment and speak with sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen or Army personnel.

Throughout the weekend, visitors can also take part in one of Fleet Week’s mainstays, ship tours, which feature 10 U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy ships.

Also returning this year is the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, a 24-member rifle platoon often referred to as “Marching Twenty-Four.”

The unit conducts a unique silent precision exhibition exercise on Marina Green on Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30am.

Fleet Fest is a new offering this year, taking place Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Pier 30/32 next to the USS Tripoli.

Fleet Fest features special performances and exhibitions by the 1st Marine Division Marching Band and Brass Band, the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and the 191st Army Brass and Jazz Bands.