Fleet Week 2018

New York’s 30th annual Fleet Week starts Wednesday with the Parade of Ships on the Hudson from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some 2,300 Marines and sailors, both Navy and Coast Guard, will flood the streets. Grateful New Yorkers can thank these men and women for their service, tour their vessels and enjoy a host of other events.

Fourteen ships will dock at Pier 90 in Manhattan, the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook and the Homeport Pier in Staten Island. Among them will be the USS Arlington, named in commemoration of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, and the USS Iwo Jima, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, which are expected to be the most popular crafts for tours.

You may also want to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at Pier 86 and see, for example, a performance by the US Coast Guard Silent Drill Team.

Indeed, each service will host a bevy of events, all free and open to the general public. Look up, and you may see an aviation demonstration. Navy divers will perform drills inside a glass tank in Times Square. Marines will host a day of fitness classes in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.

(A master program is at militarynews.com/ app/fleetweeknewyork/events.html.)

Note: Unofficial events may involve a cover charge, notably Friday night’s “Snag Yourself a Sailor” (a nod to Carrie Bradshaw) singles mixer in Midtown.

Welcome the city’s guests however you like while you can: The ships depart May 29.