"A New Day in Olde Towne"
On August 4th, the City of Portsmouth kicks off a five day celebration - Portsmouth's 'Coast Guard City Celebration'. The event is to honor the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and celebrate the City's elite status as a 'Coast Guard City'. Portsmouth is one of only nine cities in the country to receive the designation from the U.S. Congress.
It is no coincidence that the event starts on August 4th. August 4th is the 220th birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Opening Ceremony takes place at High Street Landing on Wednesday August 4, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Activities include: Color Guard; National Anthem, Aircraft Fly-over, Band/Singers, Speakers from United States Coast Guard and government dignitaries at High Street Landing.
August 4 is celebrated as Coast Guard Day to honor the establishment on that day in 1790 of the Revenue Cutter Service, forebear of today's Coast Guard, by the Treasury Department. On that date, Congress, guided by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of ten cutters, whose responsibility would be enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by Congress under the Constitution.
The Coast Guard has been continuously at sea since its inception, although the name Coast Guard didn't come about until 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the Lifesaving Service. The Lighthouse Service joined the Coast Guard in 1939, followed in 1946 by the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection. Finally, in 1967, after 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation.
Coast Guard Day is primarily an internal activity for active duty Coast Guard personnel, civilian members, reservists, retirees, auxiliary, and dependents, but it does have a significant share of interest outside the Service. Grand Haven, Michigan, also known as Coast Guard City, USA, annually sponsors the Coast Guard Festival around August 4. Typically it is the largest community celebration of a branch of the Armed Forces in the nation.
In addition to celebrating their own day every year, Coast Guard members also participate as equal partners in Armed Forces Day activities. Click here to learn more about the events for Portsmouth's 'Coast Guard City Celebration'.
Photo of Portsmouth Coast Guard courtesy of the United States Coast Guard.
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Welcome to Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia's historic seaport and a major boating destination. We're located at Mile Marker "0' of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and directly across the river from Downtown Norfolk.