NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – The Tall Ships Festival, scheduled for July 16-19 in Newport, will take place, weeks after it appeared the event would be canceled after its organizer pulled out, officials announced on Wednesday.

Officials said a nonprofit group was created to oversee the event. The group is chaired by Thomas Weschler, a retired Navy admiral.

The event was canceled last month, after the organizer, Conventures, said it didn’t get a workable plan from the state and that costs were too high to ensure the public’s safety.

Gov. Don Carcieri praised the event’s reinstatement, and thanked several state lawmakers for helping secure security funding for the event. State agencies will spend about 400,000 on security, according to the organizers.

The Tall Ships features 14 vessels that sail into Narragansett Bay, leading a flotilla of hundreds of smaller vessels and recreational boats. Thousands of spectators were expected to line the coast to watch the procession.

The event was originally scheduled for Quonset Point, but was moved to Goat Island in Newport after shoreline communities said they couldn’t afford the security costs.

The move to Newport was supposed to lower those costs.

AP-ES-06-09-04 1728EDT