Fall is the perfect time to get to know more about what makes Downtown New Bedford such a vibrant place to live, work and play. On October 8th join us for a Storytellers AHA! Night that is chock full of interesting programming. Sit back & enjoy stories of the local community and culture as well as tall tales, fables and fancies. Autumn evenings in Downtown are great for strolling so be sure to hit the streets and check out new exhibits, live music, kids crafts & don’t forget to shop & eat!

The City of New Bedford trolley bus will shuttle visitors between the venues from 5-9pm.

• Sig Haines discusses the history of the Swain School of Design @ Crowell’s Fine Arts & Custom Framing

• NB Preservation Society presents “A Rising Tide: The story of urban renewal and destruction in New Bedford,” an illustrated lecture with Joe Thomas & Jay Avila from Spinner Publications @ the First Baptist Church

• Your Theatre, Inc. presents scenes from Cask of Amontillado to celebrate

Edgar Allen Poe’s 200th birthday @ Artworks!

• Rob Velella speaks on Poe, Melville and Maritime Literature @ the NB Whaling National Historical Park

• Stories of NOW! AHA! Artists of the Month Tem Blessed & Ben Gilbarg perform @ The Garage

• royal hartigan’s blood drum spirit ensemble @ Grace Episcopal Church

• Art @ 8 with Roger Kizik @ the NB Art Museum

• Pumpkin Painting @ the Pilgrim United Church of Christ

Special Programs:

Crowell’s Fine Arts and Custom Framing ( 382 Acushnet Avenue) Stop by for an engaging discussion about the history and importance of the Swain School of Design with Severin Haines, a former student and faculty, currently a Professor of Painting at UMASS Dartmouth. 7pm

Pilgrim United Church of Christ (635 Purchase Street)
Pumpkin painting for aspiring young artists. Take home your finished product. 5-7pm

New Bedford Preservation Society (First Baptist Church, 149 William Street) The NBPS and the NB Preservation Coalition have begun working with the First Baptist Church on a long term plan for preserving this significant building. Come hear “A Rising Tide: The story of urban renewal and destruction in New Bedford,” an illustrated lecture with Joe Thomas and Jay Avila from Spinner Publications. 5:30pm

New Bedford Art Museum (608 Pleasant Street) Three new exhibitions:

“Disparate Dialogue: A Roger Kizik Retrospective” Roger Kizik is well-known along the SouthCoast and throughout New England. NBAM is pleased to present this retrospective exhibition of an artist most worthy of a look back over his life’s career, with examples of all phases of his work in several media. Art @ 8 Roger Kizik talking about his work. 8pm

“kim witham: transcendence” A former UMASS Dartmouth student, Witham’s “transcendence” is an exquisite series of color photographs inspired by Victorian post mortem images taken of animal victims of early and accidental death.

Exhibition of Summer Children’s Art from the artMOBILE and Summer artMused programs.

Artworks! (384 Achushnet Avenue) will feature Karen Chace, coordinator and storyteller of the monthly Storyteller Café telling seasonal tales, 7-7:30pm.

To celebrate Edgar Allen Poe’s 200th Birthday, Your Theatre presents Scenes from Cask of Amontillado. A 3-person dramatic reading presentation, 6:15 & 7:30 pm.

The Garage (79 North Water Street) Demolition 101 featuring artists Jamie Lunquest, Joel Monte, Aaron Girard & Zane Cox.

New Bedford Whaling Museum (18 Johnny Cake Hill) “The Sleep of Death: Barnabas Downs, the brig General Arnold and Memory in Maritime New England” with Zachary Martin. In December of 1778, Barnabas Downs from Barnstable, MA boarded the brig General Arnold as an American privateer to fight the British Navy during the American Revolution. 6-7:00pm in the Museum Theater

“By the Sweat of Our Brow” Join us for a dramatic reading of oral histories from retired New Bedford Longshoremen who worked the Providence docks followed by a short slide show and discussion. Actress Sylvia Ann Soares is the daughter of longtime Local #1329 Providence President, Arthur S. Soares. Funded by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. 7:30pm in the Museum Theater

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (33 William Street)
A talk by Rob Velella on Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville and Maritime Literature. As Edgar Allan Poe’s 200th birthday approaches, learn about his involvement in a popular genre of writing in the nineteenth century called “the maritime tradition.” 6:30 pm in the Corson Building Theater

“Sailors Superstitions” with the 1850’s Ladies! Come listen to Ruth and Abby, the park’s living history interpreters, as they tell stories of sea monsters, and other sailor superstitions. Children will enjoy a sea monsters craft activity. 5-7pm

Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum (396 County Street) Students from Our Sisters’ School in New Bedford will present their original works in the parlors of the Museum.

TL6 The Gallery (100 William Street) Fishnets & Flannel: A Rocky (Mountain) Horror. A living tableau, featuring the UMass 20cent Fiction Cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Grace Episcopal Church(133 School Street)Ensemble concert with, blood drum spirit, led by percussionist royal hartigan, a teaching faculty member at UMASS Dartmouth, and bassist Wes Brown, saxophonist David Bindman, and pianist Art Hirahara. Dedicated to performing original compositions and improvisations connected to world music traditions, the ensemble draws from African American/jazz musical traditions, integrating rhythms, songs, and approaches from West Africa, Asia, Native America, West Asia, and Europe. 6:30pm

Travessia Urban Winery (760 Purchase Street) Tastings of 100% locally grown wine throughout the evening, 5-9PM.

Michelle Carr Photography (36 North Water Street) Offering Crazy Mini Photography Sessions from 5-8 pm at the studio.

Crystal Garden (772 Purchase Street) This unique boutique has gifts for every budget! Tonight offering tarot readings while you shop from 6-8pm.

Exhibits

The month of October marks Paul Cuffe’s 250th anniversary. Cuffe’s story of being an African-American whale ship owner in the 18th century will be told at three partner venues with three new exhibits. These include an exhibit at the New Bedford Public Library (613 Pleasant Street) of Cuffe papers, an exhibit at the RJD Museum (396 County Street) on Cuffe and area Quakers and merchants including the Rotch family, and an exhibit at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (18 Johnny Cake Hill).

Navio Artisans Collective (65 William Street) Opening of "Art of Entertaining" which will be showing from Oct 8th - November 4th & featuring dinnerware and entertainment-related items.

New Bedford Art Museum (608 Pleasant Street) Three new exhibitions:

“Disparate Dialogue: A Roger Kizik Retrospective” Roger Kizik is well-known along the SoutChoast and throughout New England, NBAM is pleased to present this retrospective exhibition of an artist most worthy of a look back over his life’s career, with examples of all phases of his work in several media.

“kim witham: transcendence” A former UMASS Dartmouth student, Witham’s “transcendence” is an exquisite series of color photographs inspired by Victorian post mortem images taken of animal victims of early and accidental death.

Exhibition of Summer Children’s Art from artMOBILE and Summer artMused programs.

UMASS Dartmouth CVPA @ the Star Store (715 Purchase Street)
Continuing exhibition, “Crystal Opulence: American Art Glass in the Victorian Era” presented by The New Bedford Museum of Glass

In the University Art Gallery, “JIM PETERS: On Stage
Recent Paintings and Constructions.”

Gallery X (169 William Street) For review, “3DX” A Three Dimensional Artwork Exhibit. Featuring sculptors, ceramicists, glassblowers, and other craftspeople/mixed media artists who work with three dimensional forms in the local area. Show runs through Oct. 9th.

Judith Klein Gallery (752A Purchase Street) Continued exhibition for ARTISTS PROOFS” show with 6 printmakers.

Colo Colo Gallery (25 Center Street) Living in Memory: works by Nilton Cardenas.

Second Story Studio and Gallery (96 William Street) Works by Ben Suarez, which includes photographs, paintings, painted furniture, and mixed media.

Live Music:

Grace Episcopal Church(133 School Street)Ensemble concert with, blood drum spirit, led by percussionist royal hartigan, a teaching faculty members at UMASS Dartmouth, and bassist Wes Brown, saxophonist David Bindman, and pianist Art Hirahara. Dedicated to performing original compositions and improvisations connected to world music traditions. The ensemble draws from African American/jazz musical traditions, integrating rhythms, songs, and approaches from West Africa, Asia, Native America,

West Asia, and Europe. 6:30 pm

Café Arpeggio (800 Purchase Street) Open Mic AHA! Night featured artist is Dave Conlon. Truly one the Café’s "Best of Open Mic" participants Dave has performed at 150 of the 250 Open Mics. Enjoy songs from Neil Young to The Old 97's, the Beatles & other old classics from the world of rock. Featured Artist from 6-7pm. Open Mic from 7-10pm, hosted by NB's Troubadour ART TEBBETTS. All are welcome, admission is free.

Cummings Building (2nd Floor, 96 William Street) Live Brazilian Folk music with Só Sol after 8pm.

First Unitarian Church in New Bedford (71 8th Street) Classical Music Series on AHA! Night. Piano Recital by Deborah Nemko. All performances are free and begin at 7:30pm.

Don’t forget the fun doesn’t end at 9! AHA! partner restaurants are open late serving up live music, food and fun. Check it out at these locations: Freestones City Grill, Rose Alley Ale House, Hibernia Irish Pub, Café Arpeggio and Catwalk Bar & Grille. Your browser may not support display of this image.

AHA! (Art, History & Architecture)

AHA! presents 2nd Thursday year-round FREE nights of Art, History & Architecture programs in Downtown New Bedford with 37-venue partners.

Call us at 508-264-8859 or visit us at www.ahanewbedford.org.

The AHA! Project was formed in 1999 by a dedicated circle of cultural leaders, downtown businesses and individual artists. Since July of that year, the project has continuously presented its 2nd Thursday events. What originally included 14 venues now numbers 37 and spans eight galleries, three museums, The National Historical Park, City Hall and The Library, many of the downtown’s unique stores, restaurants and cafes as well as individual artist studios, a meditation center, several churches, The Bristol Building, The New Bedford Preservation Society and The UMass Dartmouth CVPA Star Store.  AHA!’s mission is to collectively promote downtown culture and work towards greater sustainability of the downtown cultural scene and partner organizations.

AHA!’s articles on http://newbedford360.com are part of an expanding effort to bring more attention to the wealth of cultural events and experiences happening in downtown New Bedford.

View all articles by AHA! (Art, History & Architecture)