Experience vibrant histories, traditions, and celebrations during AHA! Night: NB Cultures

Enjoy live music, dance performances, cultural presentations, and more during this month’s free arts and cultural event in downtown New Bedford.

NEW BEDFORD, MA, September 3, 2026—This September, you’re invited to a celebration of many of the varied and rich cultures that create a vibrant New Bedford. It’s happening on Thursday, September 10th for AHA! Night: NB Cultures. September’s AHA! Night is sponsored by Taunton Federal Credit Union.  

Somos las Raíces / We Are the Roots

Start your AHA! Night in Custom House Square, 54th Regiment Plaza, and Wings Court, where First People Encounter will present “Somos las Raíces / We Are the Roots” from 4-7:30 PM. Storytelling, music, dance, art, food, and cultural traditions come together to honor the First Peoples of these lands and the roots, histories, and traditions that continue to thrive today.

The experience will create space to honor Caribbean Indigenous and all New Bedford culture . All are welcome to participate, share, connect, and celebrate the cultures that continue to grow from these ancestral roots.

Throughout the evening, there will be games, community art activities, and resource tables. Interactive culture talks will happen around 5:00 and 6:30 PM featuring Alberto Ayala and Haartman Deetz. There will be a variety of musical and dance performances, including break-dancing lessons with DJ JunnYaah at 4:00 PM. Bomba de Aquí, a dance and music company that performs and teaches Afro-Puerto Rican traditions, will give an educational performance with guest drummers and dancers at 5:30 PM. Later, a special performance, The Evolution of Dance Through Afro-Caribbean Cultural Influence, led by JunnYaah, will take us through dance across the centuries beginning at 7:00 PM. 

In addition to speaking in Custom House Square, Hartman Deetz will bring the Wings Court mural wall back to new life through a live graffiti and mural painting activation from 4-7:30 PM. Deetz is a Mashpee Wampanoag citizen, artist, cultural steward, educator, and storyteller whose work centers Indigenous history, identity, and the living culture of the Wampanoag people.

At 6:00 PM, take in a performance by a local Guatemalan dance troupe at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center in celebration of Central American culture. You can also learn more about the Center’s Casting A Wider Net digital exhibit, which features stories of Central and South American members of New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry.

Then, enjoy a special AHA! Moments performance by acclaimed Cape Verdean singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist ZeRui Depina and his band, with special guests including Amilton Tavares and Vava Medina, performing traditional Cape Verdean island music at Cape Verdean Vets Hall at 7:30 PM.

Nearby, September AHA! Night sponsor, Taunton Federal Credit Union, will have a family-friendly craft and educational interactive station in their parking lot about the wildlife of the Wampanoag homeland.

AHA! NIGHT TOURS

New to New Bedford or AHA! Nights? Take a tour with an AHA! docent who will guide participants through the evening’s highlights and hidden gems. The tours begin at 4:30 and 5:00 PM by the AHA! welcome table in Custom House Square. Tours last approximately 45-60 minutes. Attendees can “hop off” at any time to further enjoy various AHA! Night experiences. No registration required. This month’s docents are from the NB Food Tours team!

Additional AHA! Night activities include: 

• Read and craft with Mass Attack Roller Derby at the New Bedford Public Library. Create friendship bracelets, listen to Roller Girl, decorate your roller skates, and make stickers with the skaters! Win prizes and more. (3-5:00 PM)
• Take a stroll along the 2026 Seaport Art Walk. In this self-guided tour, explore work inspired by this year’s theme: “Good Trouble.” 
• Join Legin of Legin Knits to learn crochet in Custom House Square while immersed in music, storytelling, and creative practices that reflect the rich blend of Indigenous roots, African heritage, and Caribbean traditions that continue to inspire resilience and community. While creating in community, join Kayani Jackson and others for poetry, storytelling, reflection, and conversation. (4-8:00 PM)
• Explore What Remains, a solo exhibition by Dilge Dilsiz, artist-in-residence at the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. Through long-exposure photography and immersive light installation, Dilsiz explores belonging, memory, and how a landscape holds history long after the bodies that shaped it are gone. (4-8:00 PM)
• Meet the DATMA team at Threshold (the big blue door) in Custom House Square for a postcard drawing activity. Threshold honors New Bedford’s pioneering abolitionist history. Based on real and imagined doors, draw your own portal to the future while considering the question “What do you hope to see for our country in the next 250 years?” (4-6:00 PM)
• Stop by Gallery X to take in two new exhibits! Between the Lines features work of 38 local and regional artists exploring the art that emerges from what is written, unwritten, and everything that exists…between the lines. In the Frederick Douglass Gallery, enjoy an art exhibition celebrating the alumni and faculty of Bristol Community College, curated by Gallery X member and BCC Alumni, Christine Maiato FitzGerald. (4-8:00 PM)
• It’s open lab night at New Bedford Research and Robotics. Meet the team, tour the lab, and watch industrial robots create, design, and innovate using cutting-edge technologies. (4:30-6:30 PM)
• Join artist and handmade shop owner Eufemia Reis at House of Gamboa and Luisa Edits for a hands-on introduction to decoupage. Drop in and learn how to transform everyday objects into beautiful works of art while exploring color, contrast, and creativity. All materials provided. (5-7:00 PM)
• Create with SketchyGOichie DRAW’s FREE iPad Art Creation Stations at 3rd EyE Youth Empowerment. Kids, teens, and adults are invited to explore digital drawing, get creative, and make their own art. No experience needed—just bring your imagination! (5-7:00 PM)
• Get crafty and paint kindness rocks with Pilgrim United Church of Christ and Mercy Meals & More. (5-7:00 PM)
• Visit the New Bedford Art Museum for free after 5:00 PM and enjoy the following special events: the opening reception for the agriCULTURAL exhibition featuring the work of artist-farmers and those who take deep inspiration from the world of agriculture (5-8:00 PM), an ArtTALK with Rhode Island-based artist Thomas Deininger who combines his love for the natural world and environmental concerns with his passion for painting and sculpture (6-7:00 PM), and join Professor Mocha for a viewing and discussion of David Allen’s 2024 film “Wilding” which documents the the transformation of an English country estate allowed to run wild (8:00 PM). 
• Become a maestro for a minute at the Star Store! Enjoy a brief performance by New Bedford Symphony Orchestra flute trio Tim Macri, Caitlyn Schmidt, and Krysten Moore, then pick up the baton, step in front of the musicians, and see what it feels like to bring the music to life. No musical experience needed! RSVP with the NBSO in advance to get a free conducting baton during the event. (5:30-6:30 PM)
• Head to the jazz mural for this season’s final Centre Street Session featuring the Jim Robitaille Trio with Robitaille on guitar, Tom Casale on bass, Chris Poudrier on drums, and tenor saxophonist Dino Govoni as special guest. Sets at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 PM.
• Come visit Serlingpa Meditation Center and try out a brief talk and meditation about cultivating a peaceful mind (6-6:30 PM).
• The Zeiterion’s Jazz Jam returns to the Speakeasy with Emmanuel “Manny” Escobar and Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor. Musicians, vocalists, visual artists, and audience members are welcome. Note: The first 30 minutes will be dedicated to young people/students offering their talents in the jam. (6-8:00 PM)
• Listen to the Buttonwood Brass Band from 6-8:00 PM during their AHA! Night residency at the Harbor Hotel.
• For another AHA! Moments, join dancer, wellness instructor, and yoga teacher Jae’lynn William at Sangha Yoga to explore dance’s healing power and the joy of mindful movement. (7-9:00 PM)
• Anomaly Poetry’s open mic night returns to 3rd EyE. Share your work or come to enjoy the good vibes. Begins at 7:00 PM and continues until the poems run out. 
• Grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants and bars in downtown New Bedford.
• Downtown boutiques and galleries will be open late so you can browse and shop for the perfect gift.
• AHA! After Dark experiences include Wamptronica’s AAAHHHhhh After Dark Deep Afro Jazz House Jam at the Z’s Speakeasy (8-10:00 PM), Karaoke at PLAY Arcade (8-midnight), the Neal McCarthy Trio at Pour Farm Tavern (8-11:30 PM), and Karaoke night at Bento’s with DJ Big Chan (8-10:00 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.
• Find the most up-to-date schedule on the AHA! website. (Events are added every day!)
• On AHA! Night, a printed program can be found at the AHA! Welcome Table in Custom House Square, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Visitors Center, the New Bedford Art Museum, the New Bedford Free Public Library, and The Zeiterion.

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. Learn more at ahanewbedford.org.

AHA! Moments is supported in part by the Art is Everywhere grant funded by the City of New Bedford, through its Arts, Culture & Tourism Fund and is 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 AHA! Moments as well as Seaport Sessions and the Docent Program.