Places to Visit

New Bedford, Massachusetts- The City of New Bedford’s Department of Recreation and Mayor Scott W. Lang will host their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 10:30am at Buttonwood Park. Children ages 10 and under are welcome to participant. All participants are asked to gather in front of the warming house at least ten minutes before the start time. There will be lots of candy and prizes to find.

The rain date for this event is Sunday, March 28th.

New Bedford, MA - The New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce welcomes back The Old Farmer’s Almanac for their highly anticipated gardening seminar at the Greater New Bedford Home and Garden Show taking place at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School on March 6th and 7th. Last year, the gardening seminar was a highlight of the show for attendees, and this year is sure to be even better.

New Bedford, Massachusetts- As construction continues to expand the Fort Taber~Fort Rodman Military Museum, the Fort Taber~Fort Rodman Historical Association is proud to announce record attendance in 2009, with over 6,000 visitors logged. Since opening in 2004 with a few simple displays, the museum has flourished into a destination attraction where visitors can learn about the history of Fort Taber and Fort Rodman and honor the sacrifices and accomplishments of local veterans. In total, the museum has attracted over 25,000 visitors.

NEW BEDFORD— The wreaths are hung on the lamp posts, window displays decorate every shop, lights are twinkling and the cobblestone streets are aglow with the magic of the holidays. It’s time to make historic downtown New Bedford your home for the holidays.

Welcome aboard as New Bedford, America's largest commercial fishing port, hosts the 6th Working Waterfront Festival, a celebration of commercial fishing culture.

Sightseeing flights are being offered EARLY THIS YEAR by the New Bedford Pilots Association on Saturday OCTOBER 3RD (Rain date Sunday October 4th) at the New Bedford Municipal Airport. The donation is $30 per adult and $15 per child age twelve and younger. Proceeds from the event will be used to provide toys and other gifts for children in the New Bedford PACE Care system and another local, family oriented charitable program to be announced this holiday season.

New Bedford, Massachusetts-The 2009 Greater New Bedford Summerfest will be held July 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. Summerfest is considered one of the finest music festivals in the country and offers contemporary, traditional and Celtic folk music on six stages. The event also features more than 90 talented artisans and craft vendors.

Runners and their supporters of this year’s New Bedford Half Marathon can expect some guest appearances from some national and local celebrities beginning with pre-registration at the YMCA on Saturday afternoon, the day before the March 15th race.  Rick and Dick Hoyt of Team Hoyt and Biggest Loser celebrities Marc and Jay Kruger will be running the 13.1 mile race.  They will also meet and greet runners and their families at pre-registration at the YMCA on Saturday afternoon.  And, two-time Boston Marathon winner and current New Bedford Half Marathon record holder Geoff Smith will also be playing a role in the 32nd running of the Half Marathon. 

New Bedford, MA, September 8, 2008— The 2008 Working Waterfront Festival will feature fisherman and poet Dave Densmore of Kodiak, Alaska.  The free festival takes place in New Bedford, America’s largest commercial fishing port, on Saturday and Sunday, September 27th & 28th. 

New Bedford, MA, August 25, 2008— The 2008 Working Waterfront Festival, an annual celebration of commercial fishing culture will feature a talk by nationally acclaimed food writer Molly O’Neill. The free festival takes place in New Bedford, America’s largest commercial fishing port, on Saturday and Sunday, September 27th & 28th. 

On Saturday, September 27, 2008 the YWCA will host a cultural event for the community in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.  The 3rd Annual YWCA Hispanic Heritage Night is a fundraising event to benefit leadership development programs for young women.  

New Bedford, MA, August 1, 2008— The 2008 Working Waterfront Festival takes place in New Bedford, America’s largest commercial fishing port, on Saturday and Sunday, September 27th & 28th. This free, family-friendly event opens the waterfront to the public with a rare look into commercial fishing America’s oldest industry. 

New Bedford, Massachusetts- On Tuesday, August 5, 2008, New Bedford will celebrate the 25th Annual (and New Bedford’s 12th) National Night Out Against Crime, on the grounds of the Alfred J. Gomes School from 5:00-9:00pm.

NEW BEDFORD, MA (7.19.08) - - The Operation Clean Sweep Anti-Litter Campaign has planned a Saturday morning cleanup in Ward 1 on Saturday, July 19th from 8 – 11 am.   Here’s the chance for able, civic-minded residents to step forward and help make their neighborhoods cleaner places to live and nicer places to visit.

The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra’s Music in the Morning school program was featured on WGBH radio broadcast of NPR’s Morning Edition and All things Considered. The story is heartwarming and highlights the soothing impact of the morning music and the long lasting influence the NBSO program has on an elementary school in New Bedford. Hathaway School principal Dennis Winn calls it the ‘5-5-5’ program -- five minutes for five days for five years. Students offer their insights and true sense of appreciation and curiosity.

Click to Listen to Radio Story (MP3 Format)

Be inspired by the "Changing Facade" of a cultural city. Explore the new faces and places of the downtown landscape. This forth year of the Changing Facade May AHA! night highlights the new and expanded businesses of the past year, young entrepreneurs and innovative artists, and exciting programs offered by the AHA! partner venues.

New Bedford, Massachusetts- Mark your calendar, the Standard-Times Greater New Bedford Summerfest 2008 is scheduled for the first weekend in July.  The event kicks off in the Downtown New Bedford Historic District on Friday evening with a concert and the City’s fireworks display and then continues on both Saturday and Sunday with music, artisan crafters, local and ethnic cuisine and more.

The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra invites you to celebrate the passion and rebirth of the Spring Season with our “Romance of Spring” concert on March 29th.  Our Spring Concert brings acclaimed cellist Rhonda Rider to the Zeiterion to perform Dmitri Kabalevsky’s stunning Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor.  The evening also boasts Beethoven’s great overture Coriolanus and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major, by far Dvorak’s most personal and “Czech” symphony.

White Knight Gallery, New Bedford - The downtown community bows its head in respect to two pioneers in its burgeoning arts and business community, Alda Roderiques and Marybeth Vargas, who are retiring as of this month. For the past seven years, the store and its owners have been a steadfast part of the tight-knit William St. community. 2007 marked the stores’ tenth year in business, the first three of which were in Acushnet. Since their bold move to New Bedford, these ladies’ influence has stretched up and down the block, eventually  side-by-side with stores like Solstice, Artificial Marketplace, Joe Piper’s, Simmons Brothers and No Problemo, to name a few. Not to mention the growing number of artists and musicians working upstairs and selling their art downtown.

AHA! New Bedford invites you to celebrate Black History Month. This month the focus is on the rich cultural history and contributions of people of color to the city of New Bedford. Special programs this evening includes a screening Frederick Douglass: Profile in Courage at the Whaling Museum followed by a dramatic reading at Friends Meeting House. Other programs include a talk dispelling 20 myths about the Schooner Ernestina and a panel discussion of Cape Verdean contributions to the working waterfront. There will be a special performance by the Rhode Island Black Story Tellers at ArtWorks!, Marissa Terryce at NBAM and an open drum circle at Joe Piper.  Also featured this evening are more live music, new exhibits and fine dining.

NEW BEDFORD, MA --- Two southeastern Massachusetts actors have been cast in Your Theatre, Inc.’s upcoming production of Jeff Baron’s  compassionate and touching comedy Visiting Mr. Green . The actors are Roger H. Allen of New Bedford and Wade Martin of Berkley.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum has many diverse goals, not all of which are devoted to the specifics of whaling history.  Part of the institution’s mission is to promote the local history and heritage of the city and region, and there are many programs devoted to this specific cause.

Needlework as an art, craft, and industry has played a significant role in the history of New Bedford and its environs.  The plying of needle and thread – whether domestic or commercial, for ornamental or utilitarian purposes – symbolizes the impact of whaling both as a source of wealth and a means of subsistence.  The lives and work of merchants’ and captains’ wives and daughters; seamstresses, dressmakers, and tailors; embroiderers and knitters; sail- and flag-makers; and the whalemen who carved exquisite scrimshaw needlework tools for the women in their lives, demonstrate the complexities and contradictions inherent in the domestic ideal and working realities of needlework.

As you may or may not know, the Whaling Museum’s president and CEO Anne Brengle will be leaving the her position after 13 years at the institution.  She has accepted a wonderful opportunity to become president of the Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the United States Coast Guard through a variety of means.

AHA! will be joining First Night as a FREE venue on December 31st from 5-9pm with a "Fire and Ice" celebration in downtown New Bedford. AHA! Program Director Lee Heald states that AHA! received over $90,000 in in-kind support in 2007 from local non-profit venues and businesses and that this evening is as a way of showing appreciation to the downtown community and partner venues.

New Bedford, MA – Hop on board the M/V Cuttyhunk and motor out to Cuttyhunk Island with the LLOYD CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT in search of wintering seals hauled out on Gull Island, a small sand bar the seals love, located just off Cuttyhunk and Penikese islands. Catch a glimpse of gray and harbor seals, or even ringed, hooded and harp seals. Gray and harbor seals are the most abundant seals in this area. Ringed, hooded and harp seals are known as ice seals and are only seen during the winter months in this region. These seals are called ice seals because their pups are born on the ice floes or the pack ice off the eastern coast of Canada. During the winter, many of these juvenile seals migrate south and are frequently seen along the coast of New England.

Westport, MA – Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to get outside and walk or to learn more about the natural world around you? If yes, this is the perfect trip for you. Celebrate the start of the new year with a relaxing walk on Gooseberry Neck beach! The walk will focus on coastal ecology and bird identification. Winter is a wonderful time to walk the coast and observe the effects of wave action on the slope and shape of the beach.

This holiday season, forget the mall! Visit Downtown New Bedford for a unique local shopping experience!

In the past two years, New Bedford’s Downtown has exploded with new business and historic restoration, as well as an influx of residents interested in ‘urban dwelling.’ With a growing community of students, artists, and entrepreneurs, Downtown New Bedford is quickly becoming a 24-7 hotspot known for its diverse and organic nature. The Holiday Season is fast approaching now is a great time to explore all that Downtown has to offer.

New Bedford, Massachusetts - Buttonwood Park Zoo Director, Louis E. Garibaldi announced he will retire today after serving as Zoo Director since 2004.  During his tenure as director, Buttonwood Park Zoo has expanded numerous exhibits and introduced innovative programs that have encouraged more families to discover the zoo.  2007 was a record breaking attendance year for the zoo with 13% more visitors entering the zoo gates than in 2006.

WHAT: Unveiling of 2008 First Night New Bedford Button
WHO: Members of the 2008 First Night Committee, Ann Marie Lopes, City Director of Tourism and Marketing and Mayor Scott W. Lang
WHERE:     Shaw’s Supermarket, 500 Kings Highway, New Bedford
WHEN:     Thursday, November 29th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
WHY:     Officials will unveil the 2008 First Night New Bedford button and will give an overview of the fantastic First Night activities planned to help area residents ring in the New Year.  ###