New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Rosie’s Racing Piggies!!
It’s that time of year again! Mark those calendars for July 12-14th. The 45th Annual Whaling City Festival is approaching and New Bedford Guide will fill you in on all the excitement! Thrilling amusement rides, mouth-watering comfort food, the best musical acts, superheros, magic, crafts, wrestling, racing piglets, car & bike show, and more! Phew!
This is new president Allen Richard’s second year and he is continuing to prune certain elements and replace them with improvements. Richard has a vision and specific direction he wants the festival to go towards. He is listening to feedback, both good and bad, and making the necessary improvements to retain what has made the festival a great event in the first place and add even more new, modern aspects as well. One of the ways he wants to show his sense of community is through the Scholarship Awards that they hand out on Sunday every year.
All your favorite amusement rides provided by Fanelli Brothers!
The family-oriented festival which receives anywhere from 100,000-150,000 people is on everyone’s yearly bucket list. It’s a 45 year old tradition that many have vivid, childhood memories of. The sights, sounds, and aromas. The classic rides and amusements. The Ferris wheel, the cacoila, the great live music, the crafts, and the friends you haven’t seen in a while. What’s not to be excited about?!?!
As usual, everyone is clamoring to find out the schedule for the varied acts and entertainment, so they can plan which days and times they will attend. Here is the New Bedford Guide Survival Guide filling you in on everything you need to know!
Amusement Rides, Crafts, Food, & Vendors
Fanelli’s Traveling Amusements are returning like they do every year. The Ferris wheel, the YoYo, the Satelite, the balloon races, the bottle ring toss, and all the comfort foods and festival favorites like cotton candy, freshly squeezed lemonade, popcorn, candy apples, fried dough, blooming onion, hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs, cacoila, etc. This is not the weekend to be on a diet! It’s about relaxing and having a blast.
Each year organizers are looking to add better and better vendors and higher quality crafts. All your favorite artwork, t-shirts, posters, jewelry, antiques, candy, handmade woodwork, and more will be present.
No festival is complete without great chow!
In addition, to concession food brought by Fanelli there will be other food vendors, bringing more food choices. One thing you can be sure of, is that you will have to bring your appetite, because the aromas wafting through the air are going to have your mouth watering.
Musical Acts
The organizers of the festival always maintain a refreshing variety of musical acts to appeal to everyone. There is Country Music, Rock and Roll, Metal, Folk, Rock & Blues, original and cover bands, local and distant acts. The Country & Western acts include Tattoo Cowboy, Walk the Line, and top 40 cover band Cricket Creek.
The metal and rocks acts jamming will start out the festival on Friday with Kiss Forever, a Kiss cover band playing your favorite Kiss songs from the 70s and 80s and Weld Square, New Bedford natives who describe their music as “…Dirty..dirty..Rock ‘N’ Roll.”
Saturday you’ll be treated to the 10 piece Steely Dan cover band, Technicolor Motorhome and the popular local band Likk who will showcase their hard and classic rock talents.
On Sunday, the last rock act playing is the English, alternative rock band 7 Day Weekend, who will offer their original music.
Country, rock and metal are not the only forms of musical entertainment. Push 4171 is a pop act made up of youngsters who are sure to get the teenage girls -and maybe a some moms – swooning.
Kiss Forever – Kiss cover band
In contrast, to the all-boy bad, is the all-girl band Music in Motion. The non-profit musical act have lifted the spirits of elderly communities, and those in assisted living facilities, proving their beauty is not only an exterior quality.
Voices in Time is another non-profit organization that has been around almost 20 years. It features kids from 5-18 years of age, who sing their hearts out in an energetic, fun way.
Rounding out the music talent is The Buzzard Blue Band, a Wareham Group that focuses on the blues, but not afraid to rock out, Grace who is a multi-lingual vocal act, and Vanessa Rezendes, who was an American Idol contestant. Finally, Doc Allen and the Fury will perform their psychedelic folk-rock.
Performance Art & Dancing
Dancing acts will include Fairhaven’s Supreme Perfection Studios All Stars, Fitworks Zumba and Zumba Dancing with Steph. Dance Xtreme, Energy in Motion will round out the dancing and performance art talent.
Entertainment
Musical and dance are not the only way to be tantalized during the festival. There will be martial arts demonstrations of Isaeli Krav Maga (Friday and Sunday demos), by instructor David Eaton of Krav Maga New Bedford and Ecks Kenpo Karate by Steve Arsenault.
The very popular Top Rope Wrestling will be performing daily, with 8 shows in total, so don’t fret if you can’t make it one day! The adorable act “Rosie’s Racing Pigs” will make anyone and everyone smile. These little guys and gals whip around a track while squealing away. They will also have daily shows. What will surely be a hit with kids and adults alike will be appearances by superheroes courtesy of Southcoast Toy and Comics.
Real wrestling and real superheroes provided by Southcoast Toy and Comic
The Greenhouse Lawn will have Laser Tag, by Battlefield Massachusetts, every day, all day long. In spite of what the police chief thinks, playing laser tag or watching someone play will not increase gun violence or incidences within the city. It’s good wholesome fun and the 2.0 version of playing “Army” when we were kids. No police chief, no matter how talented, can supplant good parenting.
Mad Science’s act includes audience participation and teaches kids about science in a fun way that they will never notice. T.J. Rorschach will not only perform has sleight of hand and magic in scheduled performances, but will be strolling throughout the festival grounds mesmerizing folks.
The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office wows people every year with their Canine Demonstration and Iris Scanning. Finally, Sunday at 4:00 p.m. will be one of the festival’s most popular attractions: the Car & Motorcycle show.
Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/345495472244201/. Invite your friends!
As always, FREE shuttle service is offered to and from the New Bedford High School parking lot, to the festival and back.
So rev those engines, and plan the to be tantalized, mesmerized, tantalized and a whole bunch of other “-izeds”! The festival is a-coming!
