BAY CITY, Mich. -- More than 100,000 people were expected to come to Bay City all to celebrate Tall Ships.

It is a big celebration that begins Thursday and goes through Sunday.

Ships come from throughout the United States and some come as far as Norway.

"We're going to bring about how to sword fight, how to talk like a pirate. How to dress like a pirate, how do you play the games that the Pirates play," Bobby Mills. "Those type of things, just what it is to be a pirate and we have some history in that. That's what we do. We provide the atmosphere."

The city is host to the largest gathering of tall ships in the state of Michigan.