Tall Ships in Pics

It’s official! The Tall Ships Festival has begun, and we’re SO excited we thought we’d share some photos to entice you to come down to the Halifax waterfront. The festivities continue through July 23, at which point the ships depart to additional ports around Nova Scotia until July 29.

Stroll the Halifax waterfront from Casino Nova Scotia to the Halifax Seaport Farmers' Market and see the ships in all their glory, flags flying proudly.

HMCS Sackville calls Halifax home and is Canada’s oldest fighting warship. The ship has been Canada's official Naval Memorial since 1985 - take a tour all summer long!


Sailing a Tall Ship is hard work - the crew of HMCS Bounty climbed up the rigging this morning to adjust the sails.

Tall Ship Unicorn has an all female crew, is a Canadian certified sail-training vessel, and is home to on-board leadership program "Sisters Under Sail".


Visit a display of antique weaponry near the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Swords, muskets, cannons - everything you need to inspire swashbuckling fun. One thing we know for sure - kids LOVE cannons.

Stop in at the Parks Canada kiosk and step back in time. Get a free 1812 Naval tattoo and look the part of a sailor from days of old. Tattoos are done by airbrush and fun for all ages.

It's big, it's bold, it's a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, an important theme of this year's Tall Ships Festival. Parks Canada is in the midst of installing this special piece near the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront hotel - don't miss out on an awesome photo op!


Halifax's Theodore Tugboat is extra happy to have so much company - he's a great ambassador to all his Tall Ship friends and is a true Maritimer, always offering a warm smile.

A "must" to compliment your Tall Ships Festival experience is a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. With an impressive Cable Ships exhibit, collection of Titanic artifacts, model ships, mascot & resident Merlin the Rainbow Macaw and more, the museum is your stop for all things nautical.

Adventure on "up the hill" and stop in at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame to learn about sailing inductees including Angus Walters, the skipper of the original Bluenose. Also on display is a scale model of the Blusnose, which has been presented as a trophy for sailor-of-the-year to hall-of-famers and Nova Scotian sport heroes such as 2012 Paralympian Paul Tingley.

The common theme in all these photos? Blue skies! Slather on some sunscreen and grab a hat – it’s going to be one hot and sunny weekend full of seafaring adventure. For a full Tall Ships Festival schedule - from cuisine to music to art to film to history - visit http://my-waterfront.ca/tallships/festival-schedule.