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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Alexandria is adding a pair of ticketed evening receptions aboard a historic tall ship to its Sails on the Potomac festival next month, offering after-hours access to the waterfront alongside the free, three-day celebration the city has planned for the nation's 250th anniversary.
The receptions will be held aboard the Kalmar Nyckel, a reproduction of the 17th-century Swedish colonial ship, from 8 to 10 p.m. on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13. Guests will have waterfront views, heavy appetizers, wine, beer and soft drinks, and a chance to meet the ship's captain and crew. Saturday's reception coincides with the festival's 9 p.m. fireworks over the Potomac.
Tickets are $250 for Friday and $350 for the Saturday reception with fireworks, with proceeds supporting the preservation and interpretation work of Historic Alexandria. They are available through Historic Alexandria's website.
The receptions supplement Sails on the Potomac, the free festival running June 12-14 at the waterfront as part of Alexandria's America250 commemoration. During the day, visitors can take free tours of four tall ships docked along the waterfront from noon to 6 p.m.: the Sultana, a reproduction of a 1768 British Royal Navy schooner; the Kalmar Nyckel; the Gazela, an 1883 vessel now used for education; and the Providence, a reproduction of one of the first Continental Navy ships, which calls Alexandria home. As previously reported, free timed tickets are required for ship tours.
The weekend also includes the 48th annual ALX Jazz Fest at Waterfront Park, with live music, history booths, museum exhibits and the VA250 Mobile Museum. Performances run noon to 6 p.m. Friday and Sunday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday. Historic Alexandria's 250th Village and Outpost will be open noon to 6 p.m. Friday and Sunday and noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, and the city's history booth will feature 18th-century chocolate-making demonstrations, made possible by the Chocolate History Grant, exploring Alexandria's connections to the chocolate trade.
Full festival details and schedules are available at alexandriava.gov/Sails250.
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