The Academy

 

Biloxi's Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony is always the first Sunday in June (keeping in mind that the festivities begin on the Thursday preceding that Sunday).  Next year, the dates are May 31 to June 3, 2012 (again, the actual Blessing Ceremony being on Sunday).

 

The Schedule page outlines the events that occur on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as, most importantly, Sunday.

 

Edmond Boudreaux - Local History

Blessing of the Fleet 
Priests Bless Shrimp Fleet 
Faire Dodo 

 

General Knowledge

So you want to be a shrimper? 
Shrimp Licensing
Mississippi's Shrimp Fishery
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Scientific Publications Office
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
Coastal Public Recreational Facilities

The Seafood Industry in Biloxi: Its Early History, 1848-1930
Catholic Influences (Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area)
The January 2011 Rededication of St. Michael Church
Blessing of the Fleet: Mississippi Folklife and Folk Artist Directory
Blessing of the Fleet ceremonies date back to 1929
What is the Fais-Do-Do? (Another Take)

 

Blessing of the Fleet (Elsewhere)

• Kinvara County, Galway (Cruinniu na mBád)
• Coastal Georgia (Darien and Brunswick)
• Darien, Georgia
  
• Narragansett, Rhode Island
  
• Bayfield, Wisconsin
  
• Fernandina Beach, Florida
• Bayou La Batre, Alabama
• Ballard, Washington (their Blessing also began in 1929)
• Alexandria Bay, New York
• Portage des Sioux, Missouri
• The (Almost) Complete List of Shrimp Festivals in the U.S.