World's Largest Rubber Duck Kicks Off Tall Ships Festival At Port Of LA
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — A six-story-tall rubber duck paddled into the Port Of Los Angeles Wednesday.
KNX 1070's Ron Kilgore reports the oversized bath toy is in town to help kick off the 2014 Tall Ships Festival in San Pedro.
World's Largest Rubber Duck Kicks Off Tall Ships Festival At Port Of LA
Created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, "The World's Largest Rubber Duck" lead a parade of a dozen domestic and international sailing ships making their way along the Main Channel off Harbor Boulevard between Swinford and Sixth Streets shortly before 8 a.m., according to event officials.
The Port of Los Angeles is the first-ever West Coast port to host the globally famous Rubber Duck and only the second North American city to do so, organizers said.
An estimated 250,000 visitors are expected to attend the five-day festival to board the ships, take a pirate cruise and climb aboard the vessels for mock battles in the Harbor.
Festival spokesman Craig Samborski said several of the ships on display have been seen in such films as "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Mutiny on the Bounty".
"They're just a real awe-inspiring sight to come see with their sails full sailing into the Port of LA," said Samborski.
Festival-goers must purchase passes on top of the admissions fee to ride on the sailing ships, according to officials.
The festival hours are noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets - which range from $7 to $350 - can be purchased at the Tall Ships Festival LA website or by calling (877) 4FLY-TIX.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
