BGuthrie Photos: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2012) -- Indoor events

Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2012) -- Indoor events:

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Description of Pictures: Celebration - Blessing of the Fleets
Passed down through generations of mariners and navies around the world, the annual Blessing of the Fleets tradition will be held for the 21st consecutive year at the United States Navy Memorial on Saturday, April 14 at 1:00pm. Held on the outdoor plaza, the event is free and open to the public and begins immediately following the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. This event is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
The centuries-old “Blessing of the Fleets” ceremony is intended to safeguard crews and ships from the danger of the seas through a traditional blessing given by a clergyman at the water’s edge.
The Blessing of the Fleets’ highlight occurs when Sailors from the U.S. Navy’s Ceremonial Guard proceed across the Memorial Plaza’s “Granite Sea” to pour water from the Seven Seas and the Great Lakes into the surrounding fountains, “charging” them to life and ushering in the spring season. Ceremonial music is provided by the U.S. Navy Band.
Following the ceremony, culinary specialists from the White House Mess will prepare and serve Navy bean soup to visitors in the adjacent Naval Heritage Center. Visitors are invited to relax in the Naval Heritage Center’s Burke Theater for a musical performance by the Washington Revels Maritime Voices. Singing “Songs of the Sea and Shore,” the musical group will portray the old life at sea and back home, including the sailors' use of sea chanteys and the joys and hardships of the women ashore.
This year’s Blessing of the Fleets coincides with the opening of “The Year of the Chief.” The exhibit will be on display at the Navy Memorial from April 2, 2012 through March 2013. It will be accompanied by numerous public events throughout the year, including book signings, children’s activities and ceremonies for active duty personnel and their families.

Same Event: Wait! There's more! Because I took too many pictures, photos from this event were divided among the following pages: [Display ALL photos on one page]:

2012_DC_Naval_BlessingN_120414: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2012) -- Indoor events (19 photos from 2012)
2012_DC_Naval_BlessingF_120414: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2012) -- Outdoor ceremony (153 photos from 2012)

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Wikipedia Description: Blessing of the Fleet in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition that began centuries ago in Mediterranean fishing communities. The practice is predominantly Catholic and a blessing from the local priest was meant to ensure a safe and bountiful season.

In most United States ports, the event was brought by immigrants who held strongly to their Catholic religious beliefs. The events that are part of the ritual vary by community and range from a simple ceremony to a multi-day festival including a Catholic mass, Parades, Pageantry, Dancing, Feasting and Contests. The Blessing of the Fleet is held at coastal fishing communities throughout much of the world.

The two bible verses most used in Blessing of the Fleet are: Psalm 104, verses 24-31 & Psalm 107, verses 23-32. The actual blessing used at Destin, Florida, is as follows:

“Most gracious Lord, who numbered among your apostles the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John, we pray you to consecrate this boat to righteous work in your name. Guide the captain at her helm. So prosper her voyages that an honest living may be made. Watch over her passengers and crew and bring them to a safe return. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon this vessel and all who come aboard, this day and forever. Amen”

...

Washington, D.C.

The Blessing of the Fleet in the nation's capital is one of the premier events of the region's boating season. Held in the Spring along Washington, D.C.'s Southwest Waterfront, it is hosted by the Port of Washington Yacht Club and supported by several yacht clubs and marinas in the area. 2011 will mark the 36th year that the Blessing has taken place. With activity on land as well as on the water, the event is an exciting display of pageantry and seamanship that draws up to 100 boats each year.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (yyyy) -- indoor/outdoor) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2024_04_13C2_Naval_BlessingN: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2024) -- Indoor Events (27 photos from 04/13/2024)
- 2024_04_13C1_Naval_BlessingF: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2024) -- Outdoor Ceremony (160 photos from 04/13/2024)
- 2015_DC_Naval_BlessingF_150411: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2015) -- Outdoor ceremony (90 photos from 2015)
- 2013_DC_Naval_BlessingN_130413: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2013) -- Indoor events (50 photos from 2013)
- 2013_DC_Naval_BlessingF_130413: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2013) -- Outdoor ceremony (140 photos from 2013)
- 2011_DC_Naval_BlessingN_110409: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2011) -- Indoor events (24 photos from 2011)
- 2011_DC_Naval_BlessingF_110409: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2011) -- Outdoor ceremony (133 photos from 2011)
- 2010_DC_Naval_BlessingN_100410: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2010) -- Indoor events incl ribbon cutting (79 photos from 2010)
- 2010_DC_Naval_BlessingF_100410: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2010) -- Outdoor ceremony (121 photos from 2010)
- 2009_DC_Naval_BlessingF_090404: Naval Heritage Center -- Blessing of the Fleets (2009) -- Outdoor ceremony (146 photos from 2009)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Military (Events)] [US Naval Memorial (Everything)] [Display ALL US Naval Memorial (Everything) photos] [US Naval Memorial (Events)] [Display ALL US Naval Memorial (Events) photos]
2012 photos: Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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