I was sitting in the Pour Farm minding my own business and my friend Rick approaches me with what looks to be a piece of cardboard in hand and says “Noah you still write for New Bedford Guide? Want to do a review of the Pourmen’s new CD?” Obviously, now you know how I answered the question, but it was how he ended the query that I thought was interesting. “As long you think we don’t suck.”

So as it turned out, that piece of cardboard turned out to be 6 song CD, ‘A Little Taste of The Pourmen’.

At first listen I wasn’t sure if the CD was all of cover songs or a mix of originals with covers. Take that as you wish but I found myself smiling after every song and listening to the CD three times before having to turn it off. Only one song on the short six song album, had I ended up skipping the 3rd time that I listened to it (actually skipping it again right now as I write this). I wont tell you which one because I don’t want to influence you opinion of the song if you ever end up listening to it.

To be straight forward the album is good. Fun to listen to and the twist they put on some old classics are fun and help bring the old songs back to life.

Your chance to grab their album is coming up soon there is going to do a CD release on October 25th at The Inn on Shipyard Park. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming show at No Problemo too. As a side note seeing this, their band life is a blast! Friends and I were lucky enough to stumble onto a show at the old Celtic Coffee house before it closed. I’ll end it here by saying we almost brought the place down with all the sing-along that was happening.

Personal Info about the Pourmen (not written by me):
The Pourmen is a New Bedford-based five piece band that blends many Celtic, Folk and Punk Rock influences to craft heart-felt songs from the Cobblestone Streets and Salty Pubs of the Whaling City. The band was established in January 2013 and played its first shows in New Bedford on Saint Patrick’s Day, sharing the stage with their brethren, The O’Tooles (New Bedford) and The Pubcrawlers (Portland, Maine). In August 2013, The Pourmen turned to Ron Poitras at Feedback Studio and recorded their debut EP “A Little Taste of The Pourmen”. The CD is available for free listening and/or downloading at http://thepourmen.bandcamp.com. The band expects to release a full length CD by the end of 2013.

The Pourmen are:
Michael Bobrowiecki- Drums
Jeffrey Shaw- Fiddle, Mandolin and Vocals
Tom Dube- Banjo Bass, Electric Bass
Alex Platt- Guitar
Rick Bennett- Tenor Banjo, Mandolin, Vocals

Contact The Pourmen:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePourmen
E-Mail: Thepourmen@gmail.com

Mayor Jon Mitchell announced that the newly opened Custom House Square will be home to a four-week “Lunchtime Jazz Series” beginning on Friday, September 20th at 12:30pm. Additional concerts will be held on September 27th, October 4th, and October 11th. The concerts, presented by the Office of the Mayor, will feature acclaimed local saxophonist Marcus Monteiro with a different accompanying musician each week. Custom House Square is nestled in downtown New Bedford steps from galleries, shopping, dining, museums and the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.

Concerts are weather dependent, and may be rescheduled to accommodate weather related cancellations.

For more information about the Lunchtime Jazz Series, contact Christina Connelly at (508) 979-1410.

While we always lament the passing of summer (well, most of us do anyways), the fall season certainly has it perks.  Fall brings us football, Halloween, and beautiful foliage t name a few. For beer lovers, this is peak season for the best brews of the year, and to celebrate that we have the New Bedford Oktoberfest.

The New Bedford Oktoberfest will be kicking off its 8th year of drinking brews and dancing to tunes on Saturday, October 5th at 3:00 p.m. and continues until midnight. This year the fest will be taking place at the New Bedford Ferry Terminal Building, aka 49 State Pier.  

Oktoberfest is not only a great time to try out some unique beers with your friends, it is also a fundraiser organized by the South Coast Business Alliance (SCBA).  This year, a portion of proceeds will go to the SCBA UMass Dartmouth Alumni Fund.  In years past, Oktoberfest has raised proceeds for numerous local organizations including the New Bedford Boys and Girls Club, Gifts to Give, Smiles, the Children’s Advocacy Center for Bristol County, and many others.  Since the SCBA was founded 9 years ago, they have raised over $250,000.

What makes Oktoberfest a dream for beer lovers is the selection of seasonal brews.  Everyone who can consider themselves a beer connoisseur knows that this is the best time of year when it comes to pumpkin ales, hard ciders and fall time favorites.  This year, the NB Oktoberfest will be featuring Buzzards Bay, Mayflower, Cisco, Pretty Things, Sam Adam’s, Wachusett, Foolproof, Left Hand, Berkley Beer, Cambridge Brewing, Southern Tier, Woodstock Brewery and Smuttynose.

In addition to beer, there will be food sold by food trucks Rocket Street Food, and Cool Licks Concessions, No Problemo, and Dee Dee’s Delights.  Rocket Street Food is more than your typical food truck- it provides “fine street food” with items like the PV Farm Stand Boar Sausage Slider or any of their mouth watering angus beef burgers.  Cool Licks concessions will be selling festival favorites to attendees, such as hot dogs and cacoila.  Of course, we all know No Problemo, but have you ever tried their Oktoberfest bratwurst queso called ‘Wust Ques’?  And if you have a sweet tooth, Dee Dee’s Delights will have her ¼ pound cookies for sale.

Of course, no Oktoberfest would be complete without music, and I don’t mean of the accordion variety.  DJ Tom Cooney will be DJing all night and local music favorite Craig Demelo “The Whiskey Poet” and his band will be opening up the night’s performances at 6 PM.

Providence-based band “The Tower and the Fool” will take the stage after Craig Demelo’s set ends.  Often heard on WBRU, this indie-rock band released a CD called “How Long” this year and they have performed nationally and at music events such as WBRU’s Summer Series and Warped Tour.

The headlining performance of the night will be the Felix Brown Band.  The Felix Brown Band has played throughout the Northeast and beyond, bringing a fusion style of music that blends elements of rock, blues, r&b, jazz and funk.  They bring their unique sound to many popular songs, ranging from Eric Clapton to 50 Cent.

In addition to the musical entertainment, this year’s Oktoberfest will feature a mechanical bull and a beer pong tournament!

In summation, all in attendance at the NB Oktoberfest can expect a night of good food, great drinks and ample entertainment.  Tickets can be purchased for $15 online by going to: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/8005283017/efbbt.  You can also buy your tickets in advance at Rose Alley, Mirasol’s and No Problemo.  Tickets are $20 dollars at the door.

Every three years, Eric Clapton holds a guitar festival and invites the best guitar players of our time, and most of his favorite legends, like Buddy Guy, Gregg Allman and Jeff Beck. This year the festival was held at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 12th and 13th and sold out in minutes. The festival raises funds for Crossroads, the treatment facility that Clapton started in Antigua.

For those of us not lucky enough to score a ticket, Fathom Events presented a one-night only event in 500 cinemas across the country on Aug. 13th. The 2 1/2 hour film included backstage footage and a front row seat to incredible performances by some of the best musicians around. It surprised me that there were some empty seats. For only $15.00 one could have the privilege to listen to and watch up close, some of the greatest musicians on earth. Many whom I have seen in concert alone, but never collectively. What a treat!

After the first half hour of backstage and NY street footage leading up to the concert which was beautifully shot, Mr. Clapton came out and started the show with a sweet acoustic rendition of “Tears in Heaven”, which he wrote for his 4 year old son who tragically fell to his death in 1991. It was a beautiful way to start the show, but from then on, the electric guitars came out and we were entertained with some outstanding blues pairings.

John Mayer and Keith Urban blew everyone away with the Beatles song, “Don’t Let Me Down”, Jeff Beck still amazing with his young Australian bass player, Tal Wilkenfeld, doing “Going Down”, and Gary Clark Jr. impressing all with his talents and channeling the blues as if it was coming through his pores!

One of the most poignant numbers was Neil Young’s, “The Needle and the Damage Done” performed by Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes. It gave me chills and was apropos since this was for the Crossroads Center. “Midnight Rider” was a crowd favorite and “Why does Love Got to be so Sad” was also a high point!

The Garden went a little nuts at one point when they realized that Eric walked out onto the stage with non other than Keith Richards. They shared “Key to the Highway” and “Sweet Little Rock ‘n Roller”. Clapton also brought us back to the days of Cream with “Sunshine of your Love.” Yes, cream does rise to the top and this collaboration of greats at MSG was the cream of the crop!

One of my favorites was Buddy Guy featuring his protégée, our own hometown boy, 14 year old Quinn Sullivan. Quinn stepped forward during “Damn right, I Got the Blues”, and impressed the hell out of the crowd. It didn’t matter that he was the youngest performer there. He held his own with these guitar greats and has a genuine respect and gratitude for the blues giants who inspire him. Quinn happened to be sitting in the row in front of me with his family, which added to my enjoyment of the film as we all cheered when Quinn first appeared on screen. I saw Quinn at the Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford with Buddy Guy 2 years ago, and at that time I was so impressed with him and thought he would go far. Only 2 short years later, he is a rising star.

Other performers included Robert Cray, Vince Gill, BB King and Los Lobos to name a few. Eight hours of music had to be edited down to 2 1/2. Not an easy task but the results were impressive. Aside from the music, there were beautiful shots of New York architecture, skylines and other interesting images.

So, for those of you who missed the concert as well as the movie, look for the DVD out this fall. Hopefully, that will include some added extras like the final jam with all the guitarists, which was not included in the movie. I will most definitely be getting the DVD, but better still, Crossroads 2016 just got added to my bucket list.

This week, Mayor Jon Mitchell announced that the City will host a series of free summer concerts on the New Bedford waterfront during the summer months of July and August.  The first of its kind, Summer Sound Series will feature live musical entertainment on State Pier in Downtown New Bedford.  Residents and visitors will dance to the music of local artists, enjoy beverages available for purchase, and relax along New Bedford’s beautiful working waterfront.

Summer Sound Series will consist of seven waterfront concerts.  The first concert of the series will be this Friday, July 12^th from 6pm to 8pm.  Remaining concert dates include: July 19^th, July 26^th, August 9^th, August 16^th, August 23^rd, and August 30^th.

Mayor Mitchell said the transformation of Route 18 into JFK Boulevard has reconnected the city’s vibrant downtown with its waterfront.  “We invite everyone to come to the New Bedford waterfront at the end of the work week to unwind, enjoy live music, and good company,” he said.

The public is invited to bring their chairs and enjoy front row seating to performances by the following bands:

7/12 – Jeff Gobush & Thom Hiller

This virtuoso guitar and vocal duo has been rocking venues all over the South Coast and beyond for years. Hiller’s masterful upside-down guitar playing combines with Gobush’s rich, soulful voice to cover an extensive and eclectic repertoire some of the best rock and soul music ever written.

7/19 – Joaquin Santos & Band
The hottest soul music experience around, Joaquin has been performing with the best of the best in New England. Joaquin, a New Bedford native, will feature some of the finest musicians from Boston to showcase a summer soul night on the pier with R & B, funk and some blues!

7/26 – Ritmo Masacote
A 13 piece Cuban Salsa Orchestra Powerhouse comprised of some of Berklee’s most talented professors/alums/students and NY & Boston’s finest musicians. Many of the members are in their early twenties, but don’t let them fool you. This young, charismatic cast produces commanding presentations full of life, spirit, and contagious energy. The orchestra was created with the purpose to bridge the growing divide between the music and dance genres by making listeners want to move and dancers want to play.

8/9 –Craig DeMelo The Whiskey Poet & Band
The twenty-eight year old has been playing stages from coast-to-coast since 2002. He’s been to every major club in New England, opening for such National Acts as Howie Day, Hootie and the Blowfish, Matchbox 20, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Less than Jake, and Griffin House. He’s also had three successful tours in California in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Along the way, he’s written over 80 songs.

8/16 – Living On A Bad Name
National act Bon Jovi tribute that was born right here in New Bedford in 2010. Since then this rock band has risen to a “blue chip” tribute act, having played in 9 states and in over 120 venues. World renowned guitarist Ethan Brosh and former local radio celebrity Ken Pittman lead this fun filled act and encourage audiences to sing and dance stage side all night long.

8/23 – Jammin: A Tribute To Bob Marley
CHRIS WATERS portrays Bob Marley in JAMMIN’: A Tribute To Bob Marley. They are the PREMIERE Bob Marley Tribute worldwide!! You will find NO OTHER band that recreates the sights and sounds of Bob Marley’s 70’s stage performance like JAMMIN’.

8/30 – The J.Kelley Band
A Rock’N’Roll Pop/Rock revelation out of New Bedford, MA. Mixing heartfelt lyrics, sing-a-long choruses, and excellent musicianship with energetic live shows, J.Kelley and the band turn new listeners into instant fans.

Concertgoers are encouraged to continue to enjoy their summer evenings in New Bedford at one of the many fine restaurants that will offer concert night specials.  A full list of participating dining venues is available at destinationnewbedford.org.

By Matthew Ferreira

Decision to do something about it
For the older generations who grew up in New Bedford, many of whom are now grandparents, the downtown area holds volumes of good memories—memories of charming streets crowded with people talking, shopping, and simply enjoying the unique vibe of the city’s social epicenter of the time. However the coming decades would see the closing of businesses and the desertion of many dynamics that made the area into the vibrant hometown marketplace it once stood.

In 1999 a small group of like-minded individuals decided to do something about it. Now, nearly a decade and a half later the folks behind AHA! and their dedicated partners continue to restore and even surpass downtown’s former glory from the inside out, tapping into the infinite resource of the city’s own artistic spirit.

For the 1,500-3,000 visitors on average who fill the streets every second Thursday night of the month to wander through the seemingly endless trails of festivities, AHA! Night is a few hours of consistently unique, educational and culturally enriching entertainment openly available to them and their families free of charge. For downtown businesses, AHA! Night is a dependable financial stimulus and vessel of general good fortune, placing them in the midst of thousands of new faces every month and attaching the universal appeal of the arts culture and interactive fun to their brand. The economic impact is undeniable.

Increasing Art & Culture
“When you really look at New Bedford’s development,” says AHA! Director Lee Heald, “… you had whaling, then you had the textiles, fishing, and then the next piece of the puzzle is the arts and culture community and ‘place-making’ or tourism. This really is part of the survival or development strategy for New Bedford at this point and to be successful at it you need to create a climate that’s comfortable for the people who are part of the community and from there you’ll attract other people in as you become ‘the regional place to be’. We are all looking for that face to face, on the street, intimate scale of being able to be together.”

According to a report published by the Umass Center for Policy Analysis in 2009, titled “The Economic Impact of the Vibrant Marketplace in Downtown New Bedford…” it was determined that AHA! Nights’ free programming generated a total of 634,570 throughout the fiscal year. This means that for every dollar spent out of AHA!’s $289,093 budget for FY2009, $2.50 was returned in economic impacts. For the state’s $35,000 in grant funding for AHA! through the Massachusetts Cultural Council, about $21 were leveraged for ever dollar spent. As the report states, “This result is significant because there was almost no economic activity in downtown New Bedford in Thursday nights before AHA!. The majority of cultural institutions and businesses were closed during the evening hours, thus much of the economic activity generated on Thursday nights is a result of AHA!.”

Help from the Massachusetts Cultural Council
Four years later, though another in-depth study has yet to be released, word on the cobblestone street is that the continuous “asset-based community development” project has only been gaining traction, pushing its own boundaries with each coming year. The Massachusetts Cultural Council, a consistent and generous source of funding for AHA! since its inception, has on many occasions used AHA! as a model for other cities to follow in attempts to initiate their own arts and culture night, pushing what started out as a good idea into a nationally recognized format for any community seeking similar results.

Testimony among downtown business owners to the positive impact AHA! has had on themselves and their neighbors is anything but hard to come by.

“In the past five years I’ve been here I’ve noticed a growth in enthusiasm for AHA!,” says Freestones restaurant owner Joe Costa. “There’s a lot more people showing up and a lot more programming going on. I’ve watched a general growth in downtown period and I feel AHA! is responsible for a big part of that. There’s a lot of other things too like the festivals and everything but AHA! is the most consistent and I think that really helps.”

Like any other AHA! partner in the food business, the most obvious effect the night has on Freestones is a substantial increase in foot traffic undoubtedly stemming directly from the crowds AHA! brings in, even requiring extra staff in their case. While some customers slide through for a bite in passing either before or in between AHA! programming, others stop in to catch Jeff Gobush and his partner Tom Hiller playing acoustic renditions at what has become their regular monthly AHA! gig at the legendary New Bedford eatery.

“Earlier in the evening it’s always a lot of families stopping in before they start venturing off. Later around when the music starts we attract a lot of small groups of local folks from the 30 and up crowd who may have been walking around for a while.” Mr. Costa says. “We’ve always done live music on Thursday nights so that works out well being aligned with AHA! Night. Jeff Gobush and Tom Hiller do a nice mix of older and newer stuff.”

Bond among business partners
Besides the arts culture and entertainment programming AHA! offers, perhaps one of its most impressive components is the sense of camaraderie that can be openly observed between downtown businesses who might usually see each other as competition. According to Ms. Heald this spirit of mutual benefit is the norm amongst the partners.

“The businesses will cooperate and recommend the other partners as possible next stops to visitors because they see themselves as part of this connected space and they speak well of each other,” says the AHA! director. “It’s quite remarkable. People are always willing to promote the whole, understanding ‘a rising tide floats all ships’.” Freestones stands as a prime example of this phenomenon.

“We end up being kind of an information booth as well as a restaurant and a place for music on that night,” says Mr. Costa. “The day before AHA! Night they give us copies of the schedule and people might ask us ‘Hey, where’s Gallery X?’ and we point them in the right direction. If people don’t really know what to do we’ll show them the schedule and help them figure out a plan. Every partner wants AHA! to be successful so we’re more than happy to help each other out.”

Other partners in the dining industry, owner of Cork Wine & Tapas, The Rose Alley, and Pizan’s Pizzeria Jay Lanagan and Café Arpeggio owner Rob Gould also share in the collectively communal experience of being associated with AHA!.

The more businesses, the better!
“Our overall philosophy is the more businesses that are down here, the better it is for everyone and we’re glad that AHA! sees it the same way,” says Mr. Lanagan.

The entrepreneur, who has made his 3 downtown restaurants openly available for a range of AHA! programming from music to arm-wrestling competitions, notices the impact the monthly celebration has not only on the registers but also on his staff.

“We anticipate that every AHA! Night will bring more people downtown and into our restaurants so a lot of the people working that night are happy because they know they’ll make some extra money. And it’s dependable—you know despite the weather or any other factors that it’s going to be a good night.”

At Café Arpeggio, one of the earliest AHA! partners and former steering committee member Mr. Gould doesn’t think twice to reach out to a business he believes might need a helping hand.

“With businesses in general it’s very hard to get people to have the kind of mindset the partners have because a lot of people are so self-centered but that’s not the spirit of AHA!,” Mr. Gould says. “For example, if a gallery is on the outskirts of AHA! Night and they’re not getting a lot of traffic I might say ‘Well why don’t you put some of your pieces in the café? We fill up early—a lot of people will see it,’ and in return they’ll take some of my menus and put them down there; so everybody helps everybody to succeed and really AHA! is what holds everything together.”

Being an AHA! participant for over a decade, Mr. Gould has gotten to see it grow as an event and an organization from ground level.

“When I opened up downtown I was one of the only restaurants down there and there were a lot of empty storefronts,” he says. “I was Chairman of the Convention of Visitors Bureau at the time and we were giving out grant money to AHA! so I was familiar with what they were doing. Like anyone else, I was seeing the kind of foot traffic they had and I said ‘Well, this is something we can capitalize on,’ and right from the start it was good for us. We’d fill right up and it still continues to be that way every month.”

Emphasis on quality relationships
One of the most apparent threads that seems to weave through all things-AHA! is the organization’s emphasis on quality relationships—whether forging new ones based on mutual need and potential benefit or mining existing ones to continue finding new ways for those involved to help one another. One example illustrative of this concept in action is this month’s ‘Police Vs. Fire B-Ball Challenge’ —part of the year’s ‘March in Motion’ theme.

“This month we have a basketball game between the police and fire departments. We work very closely with them and they’ve always been great to us so I thought, ‘Well we’ve got all this textile stuff going on this month but the theme is really ‘March in Motion’ so let’s think about a March Madness basketball game with the New Bedford police taking on the fire department.

Then I remembered Nativity Prep School had mentioned after we’d done some programming with them in the past that they’d be open to us doing something there,” says Ms. Heald, who also found sponsorship for the game by way of New Bedford-based backboard company True Bounce, who happens to have built the hoops at the game’s chosen venue. “The school said, ‘Sure, our place would be great to use’, so a lot of stuff just falls together nicely because of the relationships we’ve formed through the years.”

“Anytime there’s a problem…” says Mr. Gould, who Ms. Heald confirms as an invaluable and diverse AHA! resource, “I’m the first one Lee (Heald) emails because I know a lot of senators and a lot of people involved with giving out Adams grant money so I’ve written a lot of supportive letters and things like that to make sure we always get our funding.”

Owner and head instructor of Yoga on Union Juliet Loranger has shown her support by making her space available for programming.

“I’m not a regular programmer but I’ve opened up the yoga studio to be turned into an art gallery at times,” says Ms. Loranger, who scheduled the grand opening of her facility to take place on an AHA! Night back in 2011. “Now I never hold classes on AHA! Night so I make no direct money from it but I think it’s just an important thing to be a part of and promote as a member of this community. However some people that might have been too timid to sign up for a yoga class have come back to try it out after stopping in for an AHA! thing. I think just having had the opportunity to walk around and check it out makes some people feel comfortable enough to do it who otherwise probably wouldn’t have.”

Rare cooperation between businesses
Aside from creating exceptionally rare cooperation between businesses, another trend that’s come along with AHA! is organizations aligning their own events and programming to land on an AHA! Night to benefit from the extra foot traffic.

“The New Bedford Art Museum (NBAM) benefits from the vital artistic culture of New Bedford thanks in part to their monthly participation in AHA!,” says NBAM Director and longtime partner Jennifer Lagrotteria. “NBAM schedules exhibition openings, lectures, and special receptions to coincide with AHA! Night to best reach the community with free programming and fulfill its mission ‘to engage the public in experiencing, understanding and appreciating art’. The average attendance for the museum is 600 members and visitors a month (including) 180-250 visitors who visit on … AHA! night. Though the economic impact is not immediately felt through sales in the Museum Store and Regions Gallery, the AHA visitor tends to sign-up for the NBAM newsletter, make return visits to the museum and often becomes a paying member.”

Dean of Umass Dartmouth’s College of Visual & Performing Arts Adrian Tio expresses a similar sentiment regarding the school’s Star Store with its ideal AHA! location on the corner of Purchase and Union Streets offering the public a unique chance to witness works of art in progress through various stages of production as a form of programming as well as other culturally enriching opportunities.

“Though AHA! Nights do not have a direct financial impact on the CVPA, the monthly events do bring a broader audience into the Star Store beyond our university community,” says Mr. Tio. “This audience can visit the University Art Gallery, attend lectures, and participate in sales of student work or workshops that are open to the public.”

Proprietor of the nearby UGLY (“U Gotta Love Yourself”) Gallery Jeremiah Hernandez tells the story of how a type of alternative programming gravitated to his establishment and flourished through the power of AHA! Night.

Revitalizer of creative energy and genuine goodwill
“We have made great connections and built many relationships due to AHA! Night. One relationship we formed from an AHA! experience is the Hip-Hop Cipher. We noticed a group of young men freestyle rapping on the corner of Purchase and Union Streets in October 2011. We approached them and asked if it was something they do every AHA! and they replied, ‘yes’,” says Mr. Hernandez who also reports his hands-down biggest crowds come on AHA! Night. “We then invited them to join the gallery every AHA! there after and the group has grown at times to 20-plus urban youth making use of our gallery to create music and add a level of experience to the gallery that really expresses our goal which is to deliver ‘cultured street culture’ from a base of love. … We never in a million years could have predicted the vibe and socially relevant experience that it has had thus far. AHA! gives us an opportunity to engage an audience we don’t always have access too.”

As AHA! has become the potent, all-inclusive revitalizer of creative energy and genuine goodwill known today, it seems hopeful that the movement will continue to cultivate ways to thrive and sustain itself for the greater good of the city both from an economic aspect and a cultural one.

“As more businesses come downtown and more of a mix happens AHA! will continue to grow like it has been,” says Mr. Gould. “It can’t happen with just non-profits, or just restaurants, etc.—It has to be a mix of businesses and as I see the mix growing I see AHA! absolutely growing.”

Educating neighbors and always thinking of the next move
“To me it’s really about educating our neighbors about all that is good in New Bedford,” says Steering Committee Co-Chair Stacie Charbonneau Hess, who has worked alongside Dr. Heald to cultivate relationships with sponsors and continue to find new sources of funding. “We need to reach out and connect with the community. When we form fiscal relationships with our sponsors, we are really connecting with people: bankers, property managers, doctors—all who have a stake in the success of downtown, and the city as a whole.”

“We’re always thinking about the next move,” says an ever-enthusiastic Ms. Heald who reportedly has her sights set on establishing a partnership with the city’s pier for summer programming. “I think eventually we would like … to move out to different areas of the city and really focus on the resources of those places and think about what arts and culture means there; to look at the architecture and art of the north end, south end, west end, and make people feel welcome like we’ve been able to do downtown.”

No one personifies New Bedford’s music scene like Art Tebbetts. He is the city’s troubadour. Where there’s music, you can find him playing, emceeing, or both. He has been the master of ceremonies at New Bedford Folk Festival (formerly Summerfest) for 18 years. He has been hosting Thursday night open mics in downtown New Bedford’s Café Arpeggio for eight-and-a-half years. His roots in the local community go back to his college days, when he played music with a band at SMU, long before it was called UMass Dartmouth.

For a man who plays hundreds of gigs a year, little things like the variety of performances at open mics and the intimacy of coffeehouses still bring him a lot of pleasure as a musician.
“I like the audiences,” Tebbetts says. “They pay attention and they listen. I can talk and be myself.”

While he is a performer by trade, it is his spoken words and personality that have helped make Tebbetts such a fixture in the New Bedford music scene. His open mics at Café Arpeggio have become a destination for musicians of every level of experience. “We’ve been doing open mics for 425 weeks. I’ve got log books for every performer,” Tebbetts says. While many open mic performers are amateurs tentatively breaking out instruments in public for the first time, the talent on display on Thursday nights can often catch Tebbetts by surprise. “The local music scene is as big now as it’s ever been,” Tebbetts says. “There are so many levels to it.”

The New Bedford Folk Festival’s aim is to provide a showcase for one of those levels. It’s a showcase that Tebbetts is quite familiar with. At the first festival in 1995, Alan Korolenko, who runs the festival with his wife Helene, approached Tebbetts, asking him to introduce the next act on the main stage. Tebbetts agreed, and ended up introducing several bands that day. “He then asked me if I could come back the next day,” Tebbetts says. “That’s how I became host of the main stage. I’ve been doing that for 18 years.”

Tebbetts emcees with his trademark conversational style. As the host, he relishes in the possibility of introducing previously unknown talent, giving them their first boost on the road to wider success. “There’s as ‘unknown’ factor at the festival, where someone new comes in and blows everyone away. There’s a band called Eddie From Ohio, that in 2001 opened for the main performer. The next year they were the main performer,” he says. “The year after that, we couldn’t afford them anymore,” he adds, chuckling.

This year, the festival will feature a wide variety of major talent in the international folk music world. Music is such a prominent aspect of the festival that it will be called the New Bedford Folk Festival for the first time this year. That growth of the music scene, with both local artists and non-local artists who are drawn to New Bedford, is something Tebbetts has witnessed first hand. He can recall a time when music was just part of Summerfest, and not the main attraction.

“It took a lot of years before the music became the main draw. There used to be a carnival with rides, and it was down on the waterfront. But music is what attracts people, and then they go to the merchants and the shops.”

This year is the first that the Zeiterion Theatre will operate as the main stage, but as in years past there will be stages scattered throughout downtown New Bedford where local artists can ply their trade. “For a couple of years the locals have had their own stage,” says Tebbetts. “Along the way, they’ve gotten nicer stages and better equipment. It’s cool that our locals get the chance to show their stuff.”

For Tebbetts, the festival is the grand event for a city he loves. He has watched the city change in recent years, slowly and, he feels, for the better, calling the spread of new restaurants and bars in the downtown area a “rebirth”. “They’ve been talking about it for thirty years, and it feels like it’s finally happening. It’s not just hard drinking places for sailors anymore. I’ve been waiting for decades for that to happen.”

Regardless of what the future holds for downtown New Bedford, Tebbetts will be there, reliably performing hundreds of shows a year, always showing up at Café Arpeggio on Thursday nights, and always, reliably there to welcome us to the folk festival when it rolls around in July. For many New Bedfordians, he is the face of the festival. “People come to me saying they want to play at the festival,” Tebbetts says. “I tell them ‘I don’t organize it, I don’t run it, I’m your host.'”

This year is the 45th Annual Whaling City Festival, an event with fun filled family oriented activities, live music, Finelli Amusements, professional wrestling, car and bike show, great food and more. This is new president Allen Richard’s second year as president 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 modern aspects as well.

One of the important facets Richard is working on is an open, and constant communication with the community, city council, mayor and other officials. He feels doing the right thing and being in the good graces of these groups is fundamental. There has been friction between these groups before Richard took the helm, and he is dedicated to listening to what they have to say, so as to form a friendlier and tighter bond. While he would like for this to happen overnight, he realizes Rome was not built in a day, and will continue to drive towards that goal.

One element Richard wants to change within the festival itself is to increase the participation of local businesses. Many of his vendors are from outside the greater New Bedford area, and even out of state. There are a number of great opportunities for local businesses, whether your ware is food, crafts, or non-profit. It’s also a great way to promote your business and show one’s dedication to the community period.

Approximately 125,000 people will come and go during this year’s festival. On top of supporting your community and promoting one’s business, it’s a fantastic way to generate additional revenue with 125,000 eyes on your product as potential customers. Applications for food, general, and non-profit vendors can be found here If you are specifically a food vendor you can also contact Manny at 508.996.3348 or at his e-mail: manny@whalingcityfestival.com. If you have arts and/or crafts to offer you can call Steve Ricard at 508.998.3535.

If you would like to sponsor this family-oriented event and further your brand, you can become one of the festival’s many sponsors like 94 HJY, Tremblay’s Bus Company, Cat Country 98.1, FUN 107, Fall River Ford, Channel 6, the City of New Bedford, ABC Disposal, Crow City Motoring, NSTAR, and more. You can also call Allen Richard at 508.287.4153. Sponsors can also attach their brand to a specific event or activity like the Chinese Auction, Child Safety Day, raffle, and more.

While everyone knows that the Whaling City Festival is jam packed with great rides, activities, games, and grub, there is also some fantastic entertainment in the form of music acts. Last year demonstrated some massive changes that turned out to be very popular. A number of local acts were brought in and that will continue. A recent poll on their Facebook page generate 60,000 views and hundreds of comments. The question was which musical acts to have during the event. To say that the music fans are passionate would be an understatement. If you are a musical act you will want to be a part of the festival and can do so by calling 508.998.3535.

In addition to being a vendor, act, or sponsor, organizers are always looking for volunteers. The current group, aged 11-90, are responsible for giving directions, setting up, trash duty, serving drinks, directing traffic and more. In return they great treated to some perks and a delicious meal when all is said and done.

More info can be had at the Whaling City Festival website and accompanying Facebook Page.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to jump out of a plane. I love heights, and am somewhat of an adrenaline-junkie (without getting into anything that would get me arrested, luckily). Years turned into decades and I still never attempted my dream of skydiving. Until last October.

Being a landmark year of my life, I decided I needed to do something special to commemorate the event. Also, someone MUCH older than me was about to skydive. Enough was enough!

On the suggestion of a friend, I contacted “Skydive Newport.” I wanted to be able to have a breathtaking view of the beaches, not a dull one of fields. There were plenty of customer ravings on the site. The safety record sounded great. In fact, the owner contacted me the actual day of my jump because the weather conditions had turned unfavorable! That sort of thing will bolster your faith in ANY business. I called the next day to re-schedule.

My friend suggested I go for the full package, which included pictures and video. I’m very glad I didn’t cheap-out on that. Every time I look at the pictures and video, I fully recall the excitement, adrenaline – and yes – fear I felt when I took my jump. I shared them on Facebook, to the delight of my friends…at least one of whom plans to do it herself.

I arrived early, so as to watch the very brief training video, which basically suggested to let the instructor do all the work and not interfere. Tandem jumps have become the norm in the last few years, reducing the risk of injury and ripcords pulled too late. But don’t take all this safety talk to mean that skydiving is without risk. The MANY forms I had to sign made it abundantly clear that I could very well DIE. That sobered me up quickly.

I put on my Elvis royal-blue jumpsuit and loaded into the plane. The Cessna seemed about the size of a large SUV. We had room for the pilot (who had the only chair), two instructors and two jumpers. We got up to 10,000 feet. At that height, I could see the tip of Long Island, New York! Before I knew it, the other jumper and his instructor were GONE. I had my first flush of fear when I realized I was next. It was really happening, after all these years.

Fortunately, male pride and the expense stopped me from chickening out and asking to be flown down. Instead, I jumped! At that height, you can see the curvature of the earth VERY clearly. I screamed.

The free-fall was at 120 mph. My contact lenses popped out immediately and were saved by the goggles they provided me. The ground below looked like something from a train set. Patches of land rushed at me and the wind whipped loudly in my ears.

Suddenly, the parachute opened and the descent was slowed. I was told to put my hands in the loops that hung from the chute, and pull the left one. I did so, lightly. We turned slightly. My instructor tugged it HARD, and we spun out of control. I screamed again and immediately tugged the other loop to repeat the experience.

I lifted my feet up, and we landed on his. He unhooked us and I fell on my butt, smiling. Skydiving was crossed off the bucket list. Except, I wanted to do it again. I was jealous of my instructor Nicky, who got to do it everyday. The adrenaline rush was incomparable. On the very short walk back to the hanger, I felt as though reality was blurry around the edges. I remember thinking that, if I were to put my fist through a wall, I wouldn’t feel a thing.

I’m not at all sure whether this will sound cliché or inspiring. That day changed my life. Facing death directly tends to arrange priorities VERY quickly. The small day-to-day worries seem to blow away with the wind. Nothing that seemed important was any longer. I drove home slowly, in no rush to do anything. My confidence in myself went through the roof.

I’d encourage everyone who has ever been curious about it to try skydiving. I found the folks at Skydive Newport to be courteous, professional, friendly and kind. The experience will be remembered by you for the rest of your life. It will temporarily give you the excitement that may have been missing in your life. Next up, I am going to try to fly one of those Cessnas!

Addendum: the day after I made my jump, Felix Baumgartner set the new world record for skydiving at a height of 128,000 feet above the earth (that’s 24 miles)! Oh…and he broke the sound barrier. He was monitored by video by his proud family, and the former record holder, Joe Kittinger, whose record was set in 1960.

When you think of the ultimate, classic movie kiss, what do you think of?  If The Notebook comes to mind, I have to admit I too am a sucker for it every time. Romantic movie moments have melted our hearts since the dawn of cinema.  The first ever on-screen kiss, lasting a total of 30 seconds, occurred in an 1896 short film called The Widow Jones.  A display of affection so foreign at the time, the film caused an uproar of criticism, with critics calling the lip-lock tasteless, disgusting, and against public morals.  Even police action was advanced to deter young admirers from imitating what they had seen!  Fortunately for romantic movie lovers, popular culture felt differently and soon the on-screen kiss became a staple in early film, so much that a film industry study in the 1930s found that 95% of movies had romance as a major plot line.[1]  Just think of how many old black and white movies end with one great kiss?

Thousands of kisses have been recorded on film since 1896, but certain ones have truly captured our hearts. They linger in our memories, making us truly believe that love is real.  In tribute, here’s a list of the greatest, most magical kisses on cinema…

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961)  Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard

Paul:  Holly, I’m in love with you.

Holly:  So what?

Paul:  So what? So plenty. I love you. You belong to me.

Holly:  No. People don’t belong to people.

Paul:  Of Course they do.

Holly:  I’m not gonna let anyone put me in a cage.

Paul:  I don’t want to put you in a cage. I want to love you.

CASABLANCA (1943)  Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart

Rick:  Let’s see, what about the engineer? Why can’t he marry us on the train?

Ilsa:  Oh, darling…

Rick:  Why not? The captain on a ship can. It doesn’t seem fair that – hey what’s wrong kid?”

Ilsa:  I love you so much. And I hate this war so much. Oh, it’s a crazy world, anything can happen. If you shouldn’t get away, I mean, if something should keep us apart… Wherever they put you and wherever I’ll be, I want you to know that I… (he kisses her)

Ilsa:  Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.

CINEMA PARADISO (1989)  Agnese Nano and Marco Leonardi

Salvatore:  When will this rotten summer end? In a film, it’d be already over.  Fade-out, cut to storm. Wouldn’t that be great? (On cue, lighting, thunder and rain begin.. Elena appears kissing him)

Salvatore:  Elena! But when ..?

Elena:  I got back today.  You can’t imagine the excuses I made up to come here.”

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)  Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster

Karen:  I never knew it could be like this.  Nobody ever kissed me the way you do.

Warden:  Nobody?

Karen:  No, nobody.

Warden: Not even one? Out of all the men you’ve been kissed by?

Karen:  Now that would take some figuring.  How many men do you think there’ve been?

Warden:  I wouldn’t know.  Can’t you give me a rough estimate?

Karen:  Not without an adding machine.

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)  Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable

Rhett:  You’ve been married to a boy and an old man. Why not try a husband of the right age – with a way with women.

Scarlett: You’re a fool, Rhett Butler.  When you know I shall always love another man.

Rhett:  (grabs her) Stop it. You hear me Scarlett, stop it.  No more of that talk.

Scarlett:  Rhett, don’t. I shall faint.

Rhett:  I want you to faint. This is what you were meant for. None of the fools you’ve ever known hae you kissed you like this, have they? Your Charles or your Frank or your stupid Ashley.

SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)  Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis

Sugar:  You’re not giving yourself a chance. Don’t fight it. Relax… (she kisses him)

Joe:  (shaking his head) Like smoking without inhaling.

Sugar:  So inhale!

Joe:  I’ve got a funny sensation in my toes, like someone was barbecuing them over a slow flame.

Sugar:  Let’s throw another log on the fire.. (she kisses him)

Joe:  I think you’re on the right track.

Sugar: I must be. Your glasses are beginning to steam up.

TITANIC (1997)  Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio

Jack:  Give me your hand. Now close your eyes. Go on. Step up. Now hold onto the railing. Keep your eyes closed, don’t peek.

Rose:  I’m not.

Jack:  Step up onto the rail. Hold on. Hold on. Keep your eyes closed. Do you trust me?

Rose:  I trust you.

Jack:  All right, open your eyes.

Rose:  I’m flying! Jack!

Jack:  Come Josephine, my flying machine, going up , she goes, up, she goes..

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944)  Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart

Slim:  You’re not very hard to figure. Only at times. Sometimes I know exactly what you’re going to say – most of the time. The other times… The other times you’re just a slinker (kisses him).

Harry:  What’d you do that for?

Slim:  Been wondering whether I’d like it.

Harry:  What’s the decision?

Slim:  I don’t know yet… (kisses him again), It’s even better when you help.

WEST SIDE STORY (1961)  Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer

Tony:  You’re… not thinking I’m someone else?

Maria:  I know you are not.

Tony:  Or that we’ve met before?

Maria:  I know we have not.

Tony:  I felt … I knew something never before was gonna happen – had to happen, but this is so much more.

Maria:  My hands are cold (taking his hands). Yours too (she caresses his face), So warm.

Tony:  (touching her face) So beautiful…

Maria:  Beautiful.

Tony:  So much to believe. You’re not making a joke?

Maria:  I have not yet learned how to joke that way. I think now I never will.

THE NOTEBOOK (2004) Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams

Allie:  Why didn’t you write me? Why? It wasn’t over for me. I waited for you for seven years and now it’s too late.

Noah:  I wrote you letters. I wrote you every day for a year.

Allie:  You wrote me?

Noah:  Yes!

Allie:  You…

Noah:  It wasn’t over.  It still isn’t over..!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

THE LADY EVE (1941), Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda

ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953), Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955), Natalie Wood and James Dean

SOUND OF MUSIC (1965), Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983), Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson

GHOST (1990), Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze