Blessing of the Fleet — maritime parade tradition

Mount Pleasant’s Blessing of the Fleet returns Sunday, April 26, with a shrimp boat parade and ceremonial blessing at Memorial Waterfront Park. (experiencemountpleasant.com) The 2026 festival runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 99 Harry M. Hallman Jr. Boulevard, under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge on the Cooper River. Admission and activities are free, according to the town’s event listings. (experiencemountpleasant.com) The day’s schedule starts with the national anthem and the mayor’s welcome at 11 a.m., followed by a procession at 11:20 a.m. and the blessing and boat parade at 11:30 a.m. The afternoon includes a shrimp-eating contest at 3 p.m. and a shag-dance contest at 3:30 p.m. (experiencemountpleasant.com) The event centers on working shrimp and fishing boats, not pleasure craft. Local ministers bless the fleet before the spring shrimping season, continuing a custom tied to safety at sea and a successful catch. (mountpleasantmagazine.com) In Mount Pleasant, that ritual now doubles as a public show of support for a local seafood trade under pressure. The festival’s organizers tell visitors to “Just Ask” where their shrimp came from and to buy local, wild-caught shrimp. (charlestoncvb.com) That message lands during a wider South Carolina fight over shrimp labeling. The state House passed a bill this month that would require restaurants to list shrimp’s country of origin on menus. (msn.com) The South Carolina Shrimpers Association says it is lobbying in Columbia and Washington while promoting “fresh, local” wild-caught shrimp to consumers. The group’s website frames that work as a push to protect the future of the state’s shrimping industry. (scshrimp.org) Mount Pleasant’s festival is now in its 39th year, according to this year’s event promotions. A town history shared in a community newsletter says the Magwood family started the tradition in the mid-1980s and the first town-sanctioned blessing followed in 1987. (iheart.com) (myemail.constantcontact.com) This year’s festival also includes seafood vendors, live music, a craft show and a Mount Pleasant Artists Guild exhibit along the waterfront. By late morning Sunday, the boats — many of them decorated — will be the main draw again. (chshappenings.com)