AHA! PRIDE Celebrates Creativity and Community in Downtown New Bedford

Annual block party with the Queer Arts Council of New Bedford now in its 7th year of celebrating LGBTQIA+ culture, history, and pride.

Pride Month takes center stage for June’s AHA! Night, as downtown New Bedford gathers for AHA! Pride on Thursday, June 12th. The centerpiece of the free arts and cultural event is the 7th annual AHA! Pride Block Party, which takes place on Upper William Street and at the Steeple Playhouse, in collaboration with the Queer Arts Council of New Bedford. In addition, businesses and organizations across downtown will host musical performances, art exhibits, demonstrations, conversations, tours, arts and crafts, and so much more. June’s AHA! Night celebration is sponsored by Eversource.

AHA! PRIDE BLOCK PARTY

Located on Upper William Street, between 6th and 8th Streets, the AHA! Pride Block Party runs from 5-8:00 pm. Shop from over 30 craft vendors, relax in an outdoor lounge while sipping a tasty mocktail by The Gallery Bar NB, and enjoy circus arts by Aerialicious Entertainment for this month’s AHA! Moment, grab a snack from Sorbae Frozen Treats and Round the Bend Farm food trucks, catch a performance by Wicked Queer Puppet Theater, and groove to a live DJ set by Wamptronica.

Inside Steeple Playhouse, Crystal Diamonds hosts the drag show featuring Queens of the SouthCoast from 6-8:00 pm. Then get out on the dance floor with New Moon Dance Party from 8-10:00 pm.

At nearby Gallery X, hear the latest AHA! Seaport Session, from 5-7:00 pm, featuring sets by singer/songwriters Sarah Donner and Maddie Cardoza. The rock cover band Never the Bride, composed of local high school musicians, will open. While there, explore the new exhibit Answering Our Ancestors, which honors the joy, hopes, struggles, lives, and stories of the LGBTQIA+ community on the South Coast. This exhibition is curated by Kate Frazer Rego and will be displayed alongside a special installation by DATMA.

AHA! Night is also when you can get a sneak peek at DATMA’s community tapestry, Being Seen: Celebrating Pride in the SouthCoast. This public art project was inspired by the historical significance and visual history of Pride posters and signs in LGBTQIA+ culture. Over 100 sails painted by the public will hang at City Hall and Gallery X, and, for one night only, inside Steeple Playhouse as a backdrop for the drag show and dance party.

KICK OFF YOUR AHA! NIGHT: PROGRAMS, BUTTONS, AND DOCENT-LED TOUR

Not sure where to go on AHA! Night? The AHA! team will be handing out schedules and answering questions at the AHA! welcome table inside the block party, by 161 William, at DaCunha Chiropractic. While there, you can pick up stickers, buttons, and light-up bracelets for the dance party.

The AHA! Table is also where you can take a tour with an AHA! Docent. Kat Knutsen, a New Bedford-based artist and musician, will guide participants through the evening’s highlights and hidden gems. The tour begins at 5:30 pm at the AHA! table and will last approximately 45-60 minutes. Attendees can “hop off” at any time to further enjoy their AHA! Night experiences. No registration required.

ADDITIONAL AHA! NIGHT ACTIVITIES

Here are some of the activities also happening this AHA! Night:

• Take a tour of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey. Learn about the history and beauty of this 1894 tall ship and National Landmark, before she heads off on her next voyage! 66B New Bedford State Pier, Rt. 18 Waterfront, 5-8:00 pm.
• Help build a community paper chain at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Pick a strip of pre-cut construction paper, write an affirmation, a kind message, or a hope for the future, and add it to the growing chain. 18 Johnny Cake Hill, 4-7:00 pm.
• Local author and cartoonist Cara Bean will lead a mindful doodling session at the library’s youth services. 613 Pleasant Street, 3-6:00 pm.
• Additional interactive arts and crafts events include canvas painting outside of Bristol Community College’s New Bedford Campus (800 Purchase Street, 2-5:00 pm) and painting your own Pride stepping stone at the Pilgrim United Church Home (634 Purchase Street, 5-7:00 pm).
• It’s open lab night at New Bedford Research and Robotics. Experience three industrial robots in action as they create, design, and innovate using a variety of technologies. 1265 Purchase Street, 4:30-6:00 pm.
• Explore re-emergence, during the opening reception at Kettle Black Gallery, showcasing the art and design of Gayle Wells Mandle in this new solo exhibit. Mandle’s work features socio-political themes expressed through abstract compositions that juxtapose reality with imagination. 1 Johnny Cake Hill, 5-8:00 pm.
• Architect Mark A. Hutker visits The Drawing Room to sign copies of his book New England Coastal: Homes that Tell a Story. 22 William Street, 5-7:00 pm.
• Judith Klein demonstrates printmaking during a reception at Judith Klein Art Gallery, which features paintings, mixed media, prints, unique ceramics, jewelry, and woodwork. 127 W. Rodney French Blvd, second floor S287, 5-7:00 pm.
• Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the New Bedford Art Museum. Explore two exhibits highlighting the artistic excellence of SouthCoast-based artists and the Museum’s role in elevating local art. 608 Pleasant Street, 5-8:00 pm.
• Stop by Coastal Bubbles + Wine Bar, downtown’s newest business, for a live pyrography demonstration by Steve Cote, who creates wood-burned artwork using wine and whiskey barrels, as well as live edge wood, as his canvas. 1 Johnny Cake Hill, Unit 4, 5-7:00 pm.
• The Pour Farm Tavern hosts a Westport Rivers wine tasting from 5-7:00 pm, including three varieties of Farmers Fizz plus their newest Five Dogs white blend wine. Later in the evening, enjoy the Neal McCarthy Trio from 8-11:30 pm. 780 Purchase Street.
• Centre Street Jazz returns for the summer! Enjoy two sets from The Acoustic Standards Quartet under the Jazz Wall with musicians John Allmark on trumpet, Dino Govoni on tenor sax, Evan Carely on bass, and Marty Richards on drums. Fiber Optic Center, 23 Centre Street, sets at 5:30 pm and 7:15 pm.
• Enjoy a talk on meditation and love at Serlingpa Meditation Center’s Pride open house, complete with snacks and coloring, while supplies last. 514 Pleasant Street, 5:30-7:00 pm, talk from 6-6:30 pm.
• Rick Finneran, lead gardener at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum, gives a 45-minute garden tour, highlighting what’s in bloom and some of the hidden gems on the property. Finneran is an American Rose Society-certified rosarian. 396 County Street, 5:30 pm.
• Enjoy a concert by folk singers and Working Waterfront Festival favorites Janie Meneely and Rob van Sante. They will perform songs drawn from maritime traditions, both old and new, combined with contemporary ballads about the ways of today’s world. New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, 38 Bethel Street, 7:00 pm, please RSVP here.
• Gail Gonsalves (a.k.a. G.G. Cosmos) is the featured writer for Anomaly Poetry’s open mic night. Hear her work and sign up to share your own at the mic. Co-Creative Center, 137 Union Street, 7:00 pm until the poems run out.
• Join or enjoy the monthly live podcast “Live From AHA!” hosted by the Artists Index at 6:00 pm at PLAY Arcade. Kids Karaoke also returns from 6-8:00 pm. Then, continue the Pride party by celebrating with The South Coast LGBTQ+ Network and the Queens of the South Coast, a DRAGAOKE show at 9:00 pm, with 21+ karaoke to follow. 34 Union Street.
• Listen to the Buttonwood Brass Band from 6-8:00 pm during their AHA! Night residency at the Harbor Hotel. 222 Union Street.
• Test your musical knowledge at The Vault’s Musical BINGO! 791 Purchase Street, 6:30-8:30 pm.

AHA! NIGHT FAST FACTS

• AHA! Nights are always free and open to the public.
• Look for the yellow flags! Most participating locations will prominently display a yellow AHA! flag to help you find AHA! Night activities.
• Park for free on AHA! Nights at the Elm Street and Zeiterion Garages.
• Museums, galleries, and shops will be open late.
• Grab a bite to eat at one of the many downtown restaurants and bars.
• In case of rain, some events may move indoors or be rescheduled.
• The most up-to-date schedule is always available on the AHA! website. (Events are added every day!)
• On AHA! Night, a printed program can be found at the AHA! Welcome Table at the AHA! Pride Block Party, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Visitors Center, the New Bedford Art Museum, and the New Bedford Free Public Library.

UPCOMING AHA! CALENDAR

JUNE 12th: AHA! Pride

JULY 10th: Kids Rule (Adults Too!)

AUGUST 14th: Summer in the Seaport

SEPTEMBER 11th: NB Cultures

OCTOBER 9th: Tunes, Treats & Creative Streets

NOVEMBER 13th: Made in NB

DECEMBER 11th: NB Festive

AHA! New Bedford offers and showcases free arts and cultural programming in downtown New Bedford on the second Thursday of each month, February through December. Since 1999, AHA! Nights have helped build and promote a creative economy that, alongside other arts organizations and supporters, transformed downtown New Bedford into the vital cultural hub it is today. Learn more at ahanewbedford.org. 

AHA! Seaport Sessions is supported in part by the Wicked Cool Places grant. AHA! Moments is supported in part by the Art is Everywhere grant. Both are funded by the City of New Bedford, through its Arts, Culture & Tourism Fund and are facilitated by New Bedford Creative at the NBEDC. The New Bedford Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, also supports both AHA programs.

The AHA! Docent program is funded in part by the New Bedford Cultural Council and the Dartmouth Cultural Council, local agencies supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

The AHA! Pride Block Party is supported in part by the Wicked Cool Places grant funded by the City of New Bedford, through American Rescue Plan awards, and its Arts, Culture and Tourism Fund, and is facilitated by New Bedford Creative at the NBEDC. It is also supported by the Mass Cultural Council.