Come join the fun as AHA! New Bedford celebrates the magic of summer during AHA! Night: Summer in the Seaport on Thursday, August 14th, across downtown New Bedford. It will also be a night for the community to honor and celebrate the late Everett Hoagland, professor, activist, and New Bedford’s first Poet Laureate, in a tribute held at Gallery X. August’s AHA! Night is sponsored by Taunton Federal Credit Union.
WORD IS BOND: A Griot’s Tribute to Everett Hoagland, Gallery X, 5:30-7:30 PM
Galley X will host a powerful evening of poetry, storytelling, and remembrance honoring the life and legacy of Everett Henry Hoagland III (1942–2025), professor, activist, New Bedford’s first Poet Laureate, and one of the great voices of the American literary canon. WORD IS BOND: A Griot’s Tribute to Everett Hoagland is both a farewell and a celebration—a community gathering rooted in spoken word, memory, and tradition MC’d by Mwalim “DaPhunkee Professor,” a multi-award-winning composer, musician, writer, and educator. The evening will feature Charlie Perry, Maia Jaye Livramento, Rick Finneran, and other community voices. Early arrival is strongly recommended as seating is limited.
Scallopalooza 2025, Bethel Street, 5-8:00 PM
Cheer on local fishermen competing for the title of New Bedford’s best shucker at 6:30 PM as part of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center’s Scallopalooza 2025. You can also enjoy the music of indie-rock band, Immuter (in one of this month’s AHA! Seaport Sessions), learn more about the gear fishermen use to harvest scallops, explore fishing industry vendor booths, and more along Bethel Street.
Lower William Street
On nearby Lower William Street, puzzle and dance during Puzzical Chairs & Pops (rescheduled from July AHA!). In this mashup of puzzling and musical chairs, participants will be matched with an initial puzzle partner to assemble a 24-piece jigsaw puzzle for the duration of a song. When the song changes, partners and puzzles change, too! Sorbae Frozen Treats will be free for the first 100 puzzlers, with live music provided by Skyjelly, local Middle-Eastern blues innovators (outside The Drawing Room, 22 William Street, 5-7:00 PM).
Nearby, you’ll find “lawn” games on the cobblestones of William Street, an interactive claywheel demonstration with the New Bedford Art Museum’s Art Mobile outside the Bedford Merchant in this month’s AHA! Moment, and nature experiences with Trustees Mobile Adventures.
The New Bedford Whaling Museum will host a free 3D film screening of Sea Lions: Life by a Whisker (6:00 PM, 20 minutes). This immersive ocean adventure follows a rare Australian sea lion pup as she learns to survive in a beautiful but dangerous world. From 5:30-6:30 PM, find drawing and coloring supplies under the whale bones to sketch seaport wildlife, imagined sea creatures, or harbor scenes.
Custom House Square and Beyond!
Beginning at 5:00 PM, community organizations will pop up in Custom House Square and in the Taunton Federal Credit Union (TFed) parking lot with art, music, activities and more! AHA! sponsor TFed will be hosting seashell painting as well as friendship bracelet making, while WHALE will lead 20-minute tours of some of their most iconic projects (leaving from the AHA! Table at 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 PM). Visit with the team from the Buttonwood Park Zoo, explore arts and crafts, try outdoor rowing, stop by Tamani’s lemonade bar and hot dog stand, and explore the work of the UMass Dartmouth Ceramics Club. Stick around for the Whaling History Alliance’s New Bedford Rocks the Park concert with Lively Up, a Bob Marley tribute band from 6-8:00 PM.
Additional activities:
- Enjoy the “Summertime” closing reception at the Judith Klein Art Gallery, with artist Heather Stivison discussing and demonstrating her work. (127 West Rodney French Boulevard, Suite 287, 4-6:00 PM)
- Massachusetts eSport and gaming venue, One Up Games, pops up at the New Bedford Main Library’s Youth Services. Explore virtual worlds with the Meta Quest, or play the latest titles on Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2! Great for ages 8+. (4-7:00 PM)
- Move and groove during a free Night Moves Dancercise Class with Juliet Loranger and Jae’Lynn Williams. Two 20-minute mini-classes will take place in Wing’s Court at 5:00 and 5:30 PM.
- Interwoven hosts an earring workshop with Christine Maiato FitzGerald. All materials, including paints, fabrics, and papers, are provided. Feel free to bring a special piece of fabric or embellishment to incorporate into your wearable art! (634 Pleasant St., 5-8:00 PM)
- See the unique work of TL6 Featured Artist of the Month, Kate Salvi, a photographer and collage artist inspired by nature, particularly flowers and birds. (100 William St., 5-8:00 PM)
- Take a break at the Serlingpa Meditation Center’s open house with iced tea, popsicles, and more from 5:30-7:00 PM with brief talk and relaxing meditation from 5:30-6:30 PM. (514 Pleasant St.)
- Centre Street Jazz features the John Stein Quartet, who will perform two sets by the Jazz Wall at the Fiber Optic Center (23 Centre Street, 5:30 PM & 7:15 PM).
- Listen to a performance by Darlene “Lady D” Andrade outside April Evans Beauty Lounge and Celia’s Boutique in one of this month’s AHA! Seaport Sessions. (109 William Street, 5:30-7:30 PM)
- Join The New Bedford Art Museum for an ArtTALK with local painter and artist Peter C. Stone at 6:00 PM. Stone’s work is currently featured in the Best of SouthCoast Artist Exhibition. Museum admission is free on AHA! Nights (608 Pleasant St.)
- Enjoy Buttonwood Brass Band’s residency at the Harbor Hotel (222 Union Street, 6-8:00 PM).
- The Artists Index celebrates its first 200 podcast episodes during a fundraiser and commemorative t-shirt launch at PLAY Arcade, which also hosts Kids Karaoke from 6-8:00 PM, followed by 21+ karaoke at 8:00 PM (34 Union St.).
- Poets and spoken word artists of all experience levels are invited to read original works or share poems by beloved artists in Anomaly Poetry’s Open Mic Night, hosted by New Bedford Poet Laureate Sarah Jane Mulvey, at the Co-Creative Center (137 Union St., 7-9:00 PM).
- Hear Neal McCarthy Trio at Pour Farm Tavern (780 Purchase St., 8-11:30 PM).
Find the most up-to-date schedule on the AHA! website.
SUMMER SOUND SERIES
There are a trio of performances left in the city’s popular Friday night Summer Sound Series concerts, which take place from 6:30 – 8:30 PM:
- On August 8th, enjoy the reggae beats of Jammin’ a Bob Marley Tribute band at the Purchase Street Stage.
- The Neal McCarty Electric 6-Piece Band will bring rock and blues to the Lower Union Street Stage on August 15th.
- Colby James & The Ramblers will treat you to some rock and country on the Purchase Street Stage on August 22nd to close out this year’s series.
In addition to restaurant pop-ups, the New Bedford Art Museum’s artMOBILE will join the fun at each concert. This art supply chest on wheels is operated by expert art educators who bring fun and creativity to children and families across New Bedford and beyond. Just keep your eye out for the purple van!
Organized by AHA! New Bedford, the 2025 Summer Sounds Series is made possible thanks to lead sponsor WPRI-12, supporting sponsors Moby Dick Brewing Company and Servedwell Hospitality, as well as Explore New Bedford, Vibra Hospital of Southeastern Massachusetts, and the New Bedford Light. Funding for this initiative is also provided by the City of New Bedford, through American Rescue Plan Act awards.
SONATA SATURDAYS
Now in its fifth season, Sonata Saturdays brings small groups of New Bedford Symphony Orchestra musicians to downtown businesses for casual, yet intimate musical performances.
What originally began as a pandemic-era collaboration between the NBSO and The Drawing Room has expanded to bring these talented symphony musicians to more local businesses on the fourth Saturday of the summer months. Now sponsored by AHA! New Bedford and jewelry company individual icons, the final performance of the series will be held at Celia’s Boutique on August 23rd at 4:00 PM and repeated at 5:00 PM. This event is free and open to the public; however, RSVPs are encouraged as seating is limited.
PARKING
During AHA! Nights and the Summer Sound Series, the Elm Street and Zeiterion garages offer free parking.
ABOUT AHA NEW BEDFORD
AHA! New Bedford provides and promotes free arts and cultural experiences for all across downtown New Bedford. For over 25 years, AHA! has helped build and promote a creative economy that, alongside other arts organizations and supporters, transformed downtown New Bedford into a cultural epicenter of Massachusetts’ South Coast. Programming has expanded to include music, film, storytelling, block parties, art markets, and more. AHA! is a fiscally sponsored program of the SouthCoast Community Foundation.
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.
