PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Just days after hosting the America’s Cup World Series, Rhode Island is welcoming a fleet of historic tall ships for a festival in Newport that organizers say could attract as many as 200,000 people to the historic seaside city.
The Ocean State Tall Ships Festival kicks off Friday, but the fleet of 14 ships is set to arrive in Newport on Thursday. The vessels — which include one featured in the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty” — will depart Monday.
Unlike previous tall ships festivals, this year’s event will be based in one location on the city’s downtown waterfront to maximize the impact on local restaurants, shops and hotels, according to Erin Donovan, executive director of Ocean State Tall Ships. Newport last hosted a gathering of tall ships in 2007.
“We want to attract visitors to the downtown to see what Newport is all about, so they want to come back when the tall ships aren’t here,” Donovan said. “We’ll have music, magicians, so many things for families to do. And of course these wonderful tall ships.”
Organizers hope as many as 50,000 visitors turn out for the event each day of the four-day event and say it could have an economic impact of about $20 million.
One Newport business owner said the event promises to boost tourism at an already busy time for the summer destination.
“I expect a huge weekend,” said Russ Dulac, owner of the Red Parrot Restaurant in downtown Newport. “It makes a big difference that they’re doing it all downtown. It creates a buzz, and allows people to really see Newport. It’s a great setting for these kinds of big events.”
New London, Conn., will host its own tall ships event, the OpSail2012, on the same weekend. That’s forced the two events, less than 60 miles apart, to compete for ships and for tourists. There is no entry fee for either event, but visitors to the Ocean State Tall Ships Festival must buy a ticket ($12.50 for adults, $7.50 for children) to board the vessels.
The tall ships will arrive in Newport less than a week following the departure of the America’s Cup World Series, which brought some of the world’s top sailing teams to Newport for four days of racing at Fort Adams. Donovan said she hopes photos and televised coverage of the sailing races in Narragansett Bay might persuade tourists from New York, Boston or other cities to come check out the tall ships.
Later this month and in early August, Rhode Island’s city by the sea will again host the Newport folk and jazz festivals. Together, the World Series, the Tall Ships Festival and the musical events ensure the state’s tourism center stays busy through the summer.
“We’re in competition with other markets,” said Mark Brodeur, director of tourism at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. “People in New York can make the decision to go right or go left. The more events like these that we have, the stronger we are.”
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Online:
Ocean State Tall Ships Festival: http://oceanstatetallships.com
