Sail Amsterdam is a major event with tall ships. The next edition is in 2015 (August 19-23). Hundreds of ships from all over the world come to Amsterdam to show themselves to the public.

The main events are the boat parades of the tall ships coming into Amsterdam harbour (from the coastal town IJmuiden), and the parade when they leave.
In the time in between the ships are moored in Amsterdam (mainly around Veemkade and Javakade), and you can visit many of them. This lasts a few days, and attracts many thousands of visitors.

Traditionally, every evening there is a large firework show.

In 2010, there was also the Crew Parade through the old part of Amsterdam, a (music) parade of ship crews, some of which had a magnificent show.

Web:
http://www.sail.nl