200 Years in the Making: Baltimore Kicks Off Week-Long Star-Spangled Sailabration Starting June 13

Dozens of International Tall Ships and Gray Hulls Expected for Baltimore Festival Commemorating War of 1812

BALTIMORE, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Baltimore will have all hands on deck next June when more than two dozen U.S. and international naval vessels and tall ships descend on Baltimore's Inner Harbor for Star-Spangled Sailabration, the national launch of the War of 1812 Bicentennial. The announcement was made today by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Star-Spangled Sailabration partners from the U.S. Navy and Operation Sail Inc.  

Baltimore's Star-Spangled Sailabration will feature seven days of land, sea and air festivities June 13-19, 2012. Visitors will enjoy Flag Day fireworks, free tours of the tall ships and naval vessels, living history displays, educational activities, a new symphonic work, a public art project and the anniversary of the United States declaring war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812.

Baltimore's iconic Inner Harbor and historic waterfront neighborhoods are the ideal setting for Star-Spangled Sailabration and the launch of Baltimore's War of 1812 Bicentennial for it was in Baltimore where national treasures like "The Star-Spangled Banner" were born. More than 10 attractions in Baltimore have a direct tie to the War of 1812, allowing visitors to explore some of our nation's most historical artifacts and cultural sites both during Star-Spangled Sailabration and throughout the three-year commemoration.

The Maryland Historical Society holds the original version of Francis Scott Key's poem "The Defence of Fort M'Henry," which would later become our national anthem. The new Fort McHenry Visitor and Education Center puts visitors into battle with a state-of-the-art interactive three-part exhibit, and the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House is where Mary Pickersgill sewed the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key.

For more information about the commemoration of the historical events of the War of 1812, visit www.starspangled200.com. For more information on how to maximize a visit in Baltimore during the Star-Spangled Sailabration, visit www.starspangledbaltimore.com. For more on Operation Sail Inc., visit www.opsail.org.

Visit Baltimore – the official sales and marketing organization for Baltimore that generates economic benefits for stakeholders through the attraction of convention, group and leisure visitors. For more information, visit www.baltimore.org.

SOURCE Visit Baltimore