FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio - The Tall Ships Challenge, a popular summertime event in Cleveland since 2001, will move east this year to Fairport Harbor, because of scheduling conflicts with the Republican National Convention in July.

The event, hosted every three years in the Great Lakes, typically brings up to a dozen or so gorgeous schooners into harbor for visitors to tour and sail. The festival in Cleveland in 2013 drew an estimated 100,000 people downtown during the three-day event.

"We do have a long history in Cleveland," said Erin Short, manager of the Tall Ships Challenge, based in Newport, Rhode Island. "It's a real bummer."

On the other hand, she said, she's excited that Fairport Harbor, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Lake County, gets a chance to showcase its waterfront during the popular event.

Fairport Harbor's first Tall Ships Challenge will run Thursday, July 7, through Sunday, July 10.

The four-day Republican National Convention, meanwhile, gets under way in downtown Cleveland on Monday, July 18. Daniel Ball, a spokesman for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, said hosting both events so close together would present too many security challenges.

Last summer, after Fairport Harbor hosted the schooner Madeline at its annual Harbor Fest event, village leaders decided they'd like to try something a little more ambitious, according to Mayor Tim Manross. When they found out that Cleveland had opted out of the Tall Ships Festival, they got their wish.

"We're all very excited about it," said Pam Morse, a local business owner who is helping to organize the event.

And also a little intimidated.

Fairport Harbor, population 3,000, will be by far the smallest U.S. town hosting this international event in 2016. Bay City, Michigan, a long-time host of the festival, is next smallest - with a population of 34,000.

Other festival hosts this year include Toronto, Chicago, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Great Lakes challenge alternates with events along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. (And new in 2018: the first Tall Ships Festival on the Gulf Coast, said Short.) As many as 20 ships will participate this year, but not every ship comes to every port.

Fairport Harbor is expected to host about six ships - invitees include El Galeon Andalucia, the U.S. Brig Niagara, the Mist of Avalon and the Pride of Baltimore II.

This year's event launches on July 1 in Toronto and ends in mid-September in Brockville, Ontario. In between: port calls in at least seven additional communities, plus races on all five Great Lakes. The Lake Erie race is scheduled for July 11, from Fairport Harbor to Pelee Passage.

Morse anticipates as many as 70,000 to 100,000 visitors will attend the festival, which will stretch along downtown's Water Street. The ships will be docked along the Grand River.

Signature activities include a Parade of Sail, ship tours, day sails and other activities. Fairport Harbor also is planning live music, entertainment, food vendors and other activities during the event. The town typically hosts as many as 50,000 for its annual one-day Mardi Gras event in July, so Manross said he's sure the streets can handle the crowds.

The cost of hosting the event is another challenge. Short said the cost varies from about $200,000 to $1 million per community, depending on how many ships are involved, security needs and other factors.

Fairport Harbor's event carries a price tag of about $200,000, according to Manross. The Lake County Visitors Bureau has contributed $50,000, and Manross is confident that through corporate sponsors, ticket sales and other revenue sources, the money can be raised.

Tickets went on sale in February, and already about half of the day-sail spots are reserved, said Morse. (For ticket information: tallshipsfairportharbor.com.)

"This should be a wonderful event," said Manross. "It's all about showcasing Lake County, and making this area a destination."