ERIE — Eight tall ships will provide a treasure chest of education and entertainment in Erie this week, taking part in the four-day Tall Ships Festival.

Based on similar events held throughout the Great Lakes in recent years, organizers expect to see 30,000 to 50,000 visitors at the local event. The Erie event is hosted by the Flagship Niagara League at the Bayfront’s Erie Maritime Museum Thursday through Sunday.

In addition to Erie’s Flagship Niagara, seven unique ships will join the festival, and all offer the opportunity for visitors to board the ships, learn about them and gain a greater understanding of their roles in history.

The fleet is impressive:

n The U.S. Brig Niagara, built in 1988 is a reconstruction of Oliver Hazard Perry’s warship that won the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Niagara’s mission is to interpret War of 1812 history, promote Pennsylvania and Erie, and to preserve the skills of square-rig seafaring.

n Built for MGM’s 1962 movie “Mutiny on the Bounty,” HMS Bounty will also visit Erie in September. Bounty has had numerous movie roles, including appearances in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” (2004), “Treasure Island” (1990), and, perhaps most well-known, “Pirates of the Caribbean — Dead Man’s Chest” (2006).

n Hailing from Eckernforde, Germany, Roald Amundsen also joins the festival. Originally built as a deep-sea fish lugger, she was equipped to service the former East Germany’s military fleet. Roald Amundsen operates year-round, sailing the waters of the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Canary Islands.

n Pride of Baltimore II was built to the lines of an 1812-ear Baltimore Clipper. With a three-fold mission of promoting historical education regarding the War of 1812, serving as a unique learning platform, and serving as a visual representative of American History, she offers many learning opportunities for visitors and sailors. Additionally, she won first place in her class in a 2000 Transatlantic Tall Ship race.

n The youngest ship participating in the festival is Lynx, a nine-year-old topsail schooner from Newport Beach, Calif. Lynx was designed and built to interpret the general configuration and operation of a privateer schooner from the War of 1812. A privateer is a government-licensed pirate ship. The crew on Lynx dress in period uniform.

n Sailed by the only all-women professional crew in the world, Unicorn, from Bridgeport, Conn., will also participate in the festival. Unicorn was built from the metals of old German submarines. She provides on-board leadership and development programs to teen girls, executive women and executive teams.

n Twin ships, Pathfinder and Playfair, join in the festival as well. These two brigantines, hailing from Toronto, Ontario, have been sailing the Great Lakes since 1964. The crew is made up entirely of youth sail students, and the captain is the only adult on board.

In addition to releasing the names of participating ships, the Flagship Niagara League also announced that tickets will go on sale at Country Fair, the Erie Maritime Museum and at www.tallshipserie.com on Aug. 1.

Tickets range in price from $10 for a youth day pass, and $15 for adult day passes. Weekend passes are $13 for youths, $17 for adults. Children under 36 inches will get in for free.





About Tall Ships Erie



The Flagship Niagara League seized the opportunity to bring this breathtaking festival, Tall Ships Erie 2010, which is unique to the Great Lakes region, to the Erie Bayfront. People from the tri-state region and beyond will enjoy four days of bayside sailing enjoyment and help to raise funds for the Flagship Niagara League, which maintains and operates Pennsylvania’s Flagship, the U.S. Brig Niagara.





you can go

Tickets for Tall Ships Erie are on sale at Country Fair, the Erie Maritime Museum and at tallshipserie.com. Tickets range in price from $10 for a youth day pass, and $15 for adult day passes. Weekend passes are $13 for youths, $17 for adults. Children under 36 inches will get in for free.



schedule of events



Thursday

5 to 7 p.m. — Parade of Sail at Bayfront Convention Center

Friday

9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — School ship tours

2:30 to 6 — Public ship tours

5:30 — Battle of Lake Erie Commemoration at Perry Monument

7 to 9 — Shipboard private receptions

7 to 11 — Free concert: Tennessee Back Porch and Key West Express

Saturday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Public ship tours, entertainment

1 p.m. — Cardboard Boat Race begins at the Bayfront Center

Noon to 9 — Heritage Festival, Liberty Park

7 to 9 — Erie Philharmonic Concert, Liberty Park

7 to 9 — Shipboard private receptions

Sunday

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Public ship tours, entertainment