SEATTLE - Commander, U.S. Third Fleet (C3F) and Pacific Northwest Sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen joined with Canadian Sailors for a parade of ships in the Port of Seattle, Aug. 2.

The event kicks off 67th annual Seattle Seafair Fleet Week, which lasts from Aug. 2-7.

"Serving in the Puget Sound area, I'm looking forward to our visiting Sailors experiencing what we get to experience year round,” said Capt. William Bulis, a Long Island, New York, native and Commander, Navy Region Northwest. “Thank you for your continued support of our Navy and sea services and for our nation's defense."

Having just come off Portland Rose Fest Fleet Week in June, C3F returns to the Emerald City with the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Somerset (LPD 25), the fifth ship to hold the namesake, and the U.S. Navy’s 51st Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), the fourth ship to hold the namesake.

“Seafair Fleet Week has been a tradition in Seattle since 1950 with multiple ships annually coming into the Port of Seattle to celebrate this region’s premier summertime festival. In partnership with Navy League Seattle Council and Port of Seattle, Seafair Fleet Week honors the men and women of the military who proudly and courageously serve our country,” according to the Seafair website.

American and Canadian service members will be engaging Seattleites through multiple community outreach events throughout the week, including but not limited to ship tours, environmental educational displays, hospital visits and performances from Navy Band Northwest and the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.

Starting in 1935 with the first Navy Fleet Week in San Diego, multiple cities across the nation host Fleet Week, each with their own appeal and highlight in American culture, including New York, San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.