If it's the weekend before Memorial Day, then it must be time for Fleet Week. It's the 30th Anniversary of the event, which celebrates the sea services and, as the Navy explains, is an "unparalleled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today’s maritime services."

On Wednesday, the Parade of Ships will take place, with numerous vessels—including the amphibious transport dock USS Arlington, the missile destroyer USS Mitscher, and the oceanographic survey ship USNS Maury—heading up through the New York Harbor and up the Hudson. The ships are docked afterwards for the public to visit.

Besides visiting participating ships and concerts, there are marine demos, Navy diver demos, and aviation displays. Fleet Week also means more than a handful of women who moved here because of Sex and the City will channel the "Anchors Away" episode and more than a handful of men will celebrate Passover for Gays. More than 2,300 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are expected this year.

Here's this year's schedule of events:

Wednesday10 am - 3 pm

US Navy Divers at NY Aquarium

12:20 pm - 4 pm Parade of Ships, New York Harbor

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Navy Band Concert at South Street Seaport

1 - 2 p.m. USCG Silent Drill Team will perform on Liberty Island

Thursday

8 am - 5 pm General Public Ship Tours (FREE) - Lines will be capped @ 4 pm if needed
Pier 90, Manhattan;
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal;
Homeport Pier, Staten Island

10 am - 5 pm General Public Tours (FREE)
Pier 86 Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
U.S. Naval Academy YP boats and USCG Cutter

10 am - 5 pm US Navy Dive Tank Demonstrations in Times Square

4 pm - 5 pm Navy Band Concert at Washington Square Park Arch

Friday

8 am - 5 pm General Public Ship Tours (FREE) - Lines will be capped @ 4 pm if needed
Pier 90, Manhattan;
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal;
Homeport Pier, Staten Island

10 am - 5 pm General Public Tours (FREE)
Pier 86 Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
U.S. Naval Academy YP boats and USCG Cutter

10 am - 5 pm US Navy Dive Tank Demonstrations in Times Square

4:30 pm - 5 pm Marine Corps Martial Arts Program demo in Times Square

8 pm - 9:15 pm Navy Band Concert in Times Square

Saturday

8 am - 4 pm "Marine Day" at Prospect Park in Brooklyn with; 8am workout with the Marines, 9am - 4pm static displays and performance by the USMC Battlecolor detachment

8 am - 5 pm General Public Ship Tours (FREE) - Lines will be capped @ 4 pm if needed
Pier 90, Manhattan;
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal;
Homeport Pier, Staten Island

10 am - 5 pm US Navy Dive Tank Demonstrations in Times Square

10 am - 2:30 pm US Navy Aviation Event: Eisenhower Park, East Meadow with aviation static displays and Navy Band performances.

12 pm - 12:30 pm US Coast Guard Search and Rescue Demo: Staten Island Pier

5 pm - 6:30 pm Navy Band Concert in Times Square

8 pm - 9 pm US Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment Performance: Times Square, Father Duffy Square

Sunday

8 am - 5 pm General Public Ship Tours (FREE) - Lines will be capped @ 4 pm if needed
Pier 90, Manhattan;
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal;
Homeport Pier, Staten Island

12 pm - 5 pm Fleet Week Event: Liberty State Park, NJ with USN helo/EOD demo and landing, USCG SAR demo, military static displays to include; USN Dive Tank, FFC display, and military tactical vehicles. USMC Battle Color Detachment and Navy Band performances.

12 pm - 5 pm US Navy Dive Tank Demonstrations: Liberty State Park

12 pm - 7 pm Fleet Week NY Music Festival: Flagship Brewery, Staten Island

5 pm - 6:30 pm Navy Band Concert in Times Square

Monday

8 am - 5 pm General Public Ship Tours (FREE) - Lines will be capped @ 4 pm if needed
Pier 90, Manhattan;
Brooklyn Cruise Terminal;
Homeport Pier, Staten Island

2 pm - 2:30 pm US Coast Guard Search and Rescue demonstration in the water off the Pier 86 in Manhattan (near the Intrepid)

Parades

8:30 am - 6 pm Bayville Memorial Day Parade
45 Bayville Avenue, Bayville, NY

9 am - 3 pm American Legion Post #50 Memorial Day Parade
34 5th Ave., Pelham, NY

9 am - 2:30 pm Hillsdale, NJ Memorial Day Parade
380 Hillsdale Ave., Hillsdale, NJ

9:15 am - 4 pm American Legion Post #170 Rochell Park Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade
333 W. Passaic St., Rochelle Park, NJ

9:30 am - 4 pm 151st Kings County Memorial Day Parade
3rd Ave. & 77th St., Brooklyn, NY

9:30 am - 2 pm American Legion Post# 1506 Crestwood Memorial Day Parade
Schultz Park, 33 St. Eleanoras, Yonkers, NY

10 am - 4: 45 pm Little Neck Douglaston Memorial Day Parade
45-11 245th St., Douglaston, NY 11362

10 am - 1:30 pm City of White Plains Memorial Day Parade

11 am - 4 pm Glendale/ Ridgewood Memorial Parade
Cypress Ave. @ Myrtle Ave. Ridgewood, NY 11385

11 am - 5:30 pm Annual Bogota, NJ Memorial Day Service & Parade
75 Larch Ave., Bogota, NJ

11 am - 6 pm Staten Island Memorial Day Parade
Forest Ave., Staten Island

12 pm - 1 pm American Legion Inwood Post #581 Memorial Day Parade
Inwood Hill Park, NY, NY (Broadway and Dyckman St., NY, NY 10452)

2:30 pm - 4:30 pm City Island (Bronx) Memorial Day Parade
City Island, Bronx, NY 10464

6 pm - 10:30pm Larchmont Memorial Day Parade
American Legion Post Aux Post 347, Chatsworth Ave., Larchmont, NY

And here are the ships and where they will be stationed:

Manhattan, Pier 90:

- San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Arlington (LPD 24), from Norfolk, Virginia. Arlington will embark several hundred Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. - Kingston-class coastal defence vessel HMCS Moncton (MM 708), from Canadian Forces Base Halifax

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Pier 86:
- Four USNA YPs, from Annapolis, Maryland (Vessels depart Saturday, May26)
- Sentinel-class cutter USCGC Richard Snyder (WPC 1127), from Atlantic
Beach, North Carolina

Brooklyn Cruise Terminal: (In the Red Hook community)
- Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), from
Norfolk, Virginia

Homeport Pier, Staten Island:
- Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9), from Mayport,
Florida
- Bay-class cutter USCGC Sturgeon Bay (WTGB 109), from Bayonne, New
Jersey
- Reliance-class cutter USCGC Diligence (WMEC 616), from Wilmington, North
Carolina
- Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship USNS Maury (T-AGS 66)

Kings Point (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy): (Not open for general public tours)
- Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), from Mayport, Florida
Bronx/SUNY Maritime College: (Not open for general public tours)
- Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS City of Bismarck (T-EPF-9)

Ship tours will be conducted daily throughout the week in Manhattan, Brooklyn and
Staten Island from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ship tours on Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Pier 86, will be conducted daily
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more details, visit the Fleet Week website.