Military bands cancel Balboa Park Fleet Week appearance due to government shutdown

Military bands that were scheduled to perform at a Fleet Week concert in Balboa Park Sunday announced that they are canceling their appearance due to the government shutdown.

“The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation has been advised that due to the continued lapse in appropriations resulting from the ongoing federal government shutdown, Navy Band Southwest and Marine Band San Diego will not be able to participate in the Sunday Concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion,” Fleet Week CEO Larry Blumberg said in a statement.

“The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation and the Spreckels Organ Society look forward to future opportunities to collaborate on musical programs to share with the San Diego Community,” he added.

The 2 p.m. free military and veteran appreciation concert will go on as scheduled without the two bands, featuring the Spreckels Organ.

Fleet Week San Diego is a nonprofit foundation created by community and business leaders “to honor, celebrate, and thank the men and women of the military through public events and alliances that increase public awareness of the many contributions made by the military and the defense community to the San Diego Region,” Blumberg said.

Other Fleet Week events have been canceled or changed due to the government shutdown.

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