Any Port In A Storm: Cruising Fleet Week and the Italian Heritage Parade

All I got is some swill, but its cold...

It’s that time of year kids!  Time for two of the more contentious festivals in the city:  The San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade (aka Columbus Day Parade) and Fleet Week!

Military grandstanding and attending celebrations named after an ambitious sailor who initiated mass genocide may not rank high in a town such as ours, even though they are two of the oldest civic celebrations in the city.

Still, though, what better a perfect storm of partying than the combination of our own little Italia and some dress whites on shore leave in a town as warm and welcoming as ours?

If you have a hankering to trick for some sea dogs with anchors and mermaids on their arms, however, remember that this is still North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf matey.  Be sure to keep an eyeball on how many of those grappas you throw back or who’s buying them for that matter.

You’re gonna have enough of a surprise awakening the next day with the Blue Angels popping in to say, “Mornin’ Sunshine!” without having been shanghai’d to boot.

San Francisco Fleet Week
October 8- 13
[Fisherman’s Wharf and Embarcadero]
FREE

2009 Italian Heritage Parade
Sunday, October 11 12:30 p.m.
(Columbus Avenue btw Fisherman’s Wharf and Washington Square)
[North Beach]
FREE