On Thursday, December 11th, feel the warmth of the holiday season with AHA! Night: NB Festive! December’s AHA! Night is sponsored by Bristol County Savings Bank with additional support from SouthCoast Community Foundation and Servedwell Hospitality.
It may be chilly outside, but on this AHA! Night, experience a Nordic Wonderland. In this month’s AHA! Moment, the Pour Farm Tavern Patio will be home to a Finnish-Style Sauna & Cold Plunge from the team at Tranquil Tides. Wear your workout clothes and experience warm serenity! For a true Nordic Cycle experience, the brave should wear bathing suits and bring a towel for the after-sauna cold plunge (Changing room available and sauna experience open from 5-7:30 PM). The warmth continues with a fire pit and hot chocolate (4:30-7:30 PM) while DJ AnjKep keeps the groove going while a Firedancer performs throughout the night (5:30-7:30 PM).
The Pour Farm Patio is also where you can find the AHA! Table to pick up a program and meet up with AHA! Docents for tours at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM. Each tour covers the evening’s highlights and hidden gems and lasts approximately 45-60 minutes. Attendees can “hop off” at any time to further enjoy various AHA! Night experiences. No registration required.
AHA! SEAPORT SESSIONS: SYMPHONIC CRAWL & STROLLING CAROLERS
In a Symphonic pub crawl of sorts, members of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra will pop-up at The Pour Farm Tavern, PLAY Arcade, and Sixes & Sevens in the first of two AHA! Night Seaport Sessions. A different trio of performers will perform festive music inside each stop along Union Street at the following times:
5:00 PM: PLAY Arcade (34 Union Street)
6:00 PM: Pour Farm Tavern (780 Purchase Street)
7:00 PM: Sixes & Sevens (7 S. 6th Street)
AHA! Seaport Sessions continue with the harmonies of the Seaglass Theater Company’s carolers, who will be strolling around downtown, lending a beautifully festive sound to the evening. The carolers will kick things off at the Nordic Wonderland experience on Purchase Street at 4:30 PM.
At 6:00 PM, the Whaling Museum will host the South Coast Children’s Chorus. This special concert showcases selections from SCCC’s Hear My Voice season—music that celebrates youth creativity, compassion, and diversity, with themes of peace, unity, and social justice.
LIGHTING THE STAR STORE
The Star Store will be full of festive fun on this special AHA! Night. View the collective portrait that will light up the windows along Purchase Street. Curated by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth CVPA graduates Anis Beigzadeh and Fallon Navarro, the windows feature displays that capture personal memories, everyday moments, and unique perspectives of the Star Store. Inside, explore a Maker’s Market, try your hand at a screenprinting activity, and enjoy hot cocoa and cider (6-8:00 PM).
MEET SANTA AND THE GRINCH
The United Way presents photos with Santa at the DeMello International Center. While there, you can enjoy cookies, crafts, face painting, and more (4:30-6:30 PM). Then meet The Grinch at New Bedford Community Health! Have some hot chocolate, make ornaments, get your face painted, and pick up winter health tips (4-8:00 PM).
EMBRACE THE UGLY SWEATER
The halls and rooms of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House will be decked for their annual Christmas on County. You’re invited to wear your ugly sweaters as you hear from docents about holiday customs. While there, taste and rate the cookies in this year’s Cookie Challenge (4-6:00 PM).
Young adults ages 16-25 are invited to bring a plain sweater and turn it into the most outrageous, over‑the‑top masterpiece New Bedford has ever seen (4-8:00 PM). Those 21+ are invited to Coastal Bubbles’ Ugly Sweater Party. There’s BINGO, raffles, and a chance to win the Staff Favorite Sweater prize (6-8:00 PM).
This is just a fraction of the evening’s activities. You’ll also be able to make your own ornaments, gingerbread house, decorate scallop shells, and more at various spots on AHA! Night. There will be even more live music, art exhibitions, late-night shopping too.
Free Entry on AHA! Night
- The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is free from 4:00 PM to close.
- All exhibits of the New Bedford Art Museum are free from 5-7:00 PM.
- The entire Whaling Museum is free from 4-5:00 PM
LIVE MUSIC AFTER DARK!
The AHA! Night fun now continues well into the evening in the form of AHA! After Dark! These AHA! Night activities include: 21+ karaoke at PLAY Arcade (8 PM to midnight), the Neal McCarthy Trio at the Pour Farm (8-11:30 PM), Wamptronica collective at Bento’s (8-9:00 PM), a holiday-themed open mic and jam session hosted by Sean FitzGerald at Gallery X (6:30-9:00 PM), and Justin Sampson live at Cork Wine & Tapas (6-9:00 PM)!
There is even more to explore on AHA! Night. Find the most up-to-date schedule on the AHA! website.
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.
- 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 Pour Farm Tavern Patio, the New Bedford Art Museum, and the New Bedford Free Public Library.
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.
The AHA! Docent Program is funded in part by The New Bedford and the Dartmouth Cultural Councils, local agencies supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Learn more at ahanewbedford.org.
