Operation Clean Sweep, a New Bedford based anti-litter organization, will hold a neighborhood cleanup on Saturday, May 19, 2012 in Ward 5 from 8:30 am until Noon.  The Ward 5 cleanup will be hosted by SouthCoast Hospitals Group and headquarters will be located in the St. Luke’s Hospital parking lot at Hawthorn and Page Streets.

Students, individuals, families and community service groups are encouraged to volunteer with Operation Clean Sweep to earn community service hours, to demonstrate support for their neighborhood, and to show pride in their community.

SouthCoast Hospitals Group will provide breakfast for volunteers in the morning and lunch will be provided by Domino’s Pizza, “The Official Pizza” of Operation Clean Sweep.  Gifts to Give, FUN 107, and the Southcoast Health Van will be onsite.

Volunteers are encouraged to pre-register by visiting www.operationcleansweep.net  or call (508) 979-1493.

Pre-registration is not required but it is preferred so that organizers are better able to plan for the needs of the day.  Volunteers are asked to wear closed toe shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather. Tools and gloves provided. Walk-ups are always welcome and all volunteer names will be entered into a drawing for a covered trash barrel!

Businesses or organizations interested in hosting a Ward cleanup are encouraged to call (508) 979-1493 for more information.

UMass Dartmouth is proud to present the  College of Visual & Performing Arts (CVPA) Senior Exhibit! This is the first time that Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography, and Digital Media majors will be exhibiting their senior degree projects all in one day!

The UMass Dartmouth CVPA Senior Exhibit will be on Saturday May 19th, from 1-4pm in the College of Visual & Performing Arts, and will feature over one hundred graduating UMass Dartmouth CVPA seniors. Please join us a truly incredible experience and witness work from very talented students who represent the future of art and design.

More information about the show and the individual students can be found at www.cvpaseniorexhibit.com. All are welcome to attend. Admittance is free. Refreshments will be served. Parking in lots 7, 8, and 10.

The impact of coastal development and other challenges facing fishing communities will be explored when the Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues Friday, May 18th at 7 PM with two films. Dock-U-Mentaries is a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the Working Waterfront Festival. Films about the working waterfront are screened on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.

This month’s program features two films:

Maine’s Disappearing Working Waterfront is a short film which touches on issues surrounding the loss of the working waterfront on the Maine Coast. Of five thousand miles of coastline, only 25 miles remain as working waterfront.

In Their Own Words: Perseverance and Resilience in Two Florida Fishing Communities examines the changes endured by two Florida coastal communities as they struggle with issues of natural resource dependence and coastal development.

The 109th Annual Meeting of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society – New Bedford Whaling Museum will take place Friday, May 18 at 4:00 pm in the Cook Memorial Theater. Annual Meeting Day events include a memorial service for museum volunteers, a graduation ceremony for museum apprentices, and an exhibit opening and reception. The public is cordially invited to attend all events.

At 3:00 p.m., the museum’s Volunteer Council will host a “Volunteer and Trustee Remembrance” in the Seamen’s Bethel, located adjacent to the museum on Johnny Cake Hill. Family, friends and associates are invited to join volunteers and the board of trustees as they gather in fond remembrance of departed members.

At 4:00 p.m. the 109th Annual Meeting of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society – New Bedford Whaling Museum takes place in the Cook Memorial Theater and includes a review of the past year’s activities, election of officers, and incoming members of the Board of Trustees, Class of 2015.

Immediately following the Annual Meeting, the 3rd annual graduation ceremony for the graduating apprentices of the New Bedford Whaling Museum Apprentice Program, Class of 2012 will commence in the Cook Memorial Theater.

At 5:30 p.m. by an exhibition of new paintings titled Dora Atwater Millikin: New Bedford Harbor Today, opens in the Centre Street Gallery – Level II. A reception in the Jacobs Family Gallery follows the opening.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum is the world’s most comprehensive museum devoted to the global story of whales, whaling and the cultural history of the region. The cornerstone of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the Museum is located at 18 Johnny Cake Hill in the heart of the city’s historic downtown and is open daily. Wheelchair accessible. For a complete calendar of events: www.whalingmuseum.org.

AHA! is always a good time, and this Thursday evening in Downtown New Bedford should be no different. There’s always a lot going on, so I’ve tried to condense that list into the top five things to do to celebrate “art, history and architecture” in our fine city. A full schedule of events for this evening can be found here.

5) Artists come in all shapes, sizes and ages, and there are two very different art exhibitions that help prove this statement. Check out the artwork of various members of the New Bedford Police Department (572 Pleasant St.) at their open house from 5-8pm. The work of Lt. Scott Corola, Officer Elvin Ramos, and Officer Luis Sud-Martinez, as well as the poetry of Officer Charles Perry Jr. will be showcased.

4) Right up the street from the Police Station, you’ll find artwork from a more youthful generation, as the New Bedford Public Schools introduces the District Wide Art Show at the Paul Roderigues Administration Building (455 County Street). It’s a collection of artwork from students around the city. Over 3,000 pieces will be shown, and an awards ceremony begins at 6pm. The event goes from 4:30 to 7:30pm.

3) Percussionist royal hartigan will lead the Kekeli African Music and Dance Ensemble in live performance on Purchase St. from 5:30 to 7pm. Over 80 members of the ensemble that “draws from African American/jazz musical traditions, integrating rhythms, songs, and approaches from West Africa, Asia, Native America, West Asia, and Europe,” according to hartigan’s website.

2) Cork (90 Front St.) will feature “Soapbox Social: The Uncorked Edition,” which is an opportunity for local storytellers to get up and talk about their own personal experiences. The theme they’ll be waxing on is “May Day.” I’ve heard plenty of storytellers in my time spent around Downtown, so I’d imagine that there should be some interesting stories spun this Thursday evening.

1) UGLYgallery presents an exhibit called “Stuck-Up,” which is a traveling show featuring the sticker collection of DB Burkeman. He has been collecting these stickers for over 40 years, and it shows. UGLY will attempt to squeeze in nineteen other panels of stickers that were formerly at the New Bedford Art Museum over the past two weeks or so, so it’s your last and only chance to see the exhibit locally and all within one building.

There may be a number of reasons why you haven’t gotten to experience AHA! New Bedford yet.  Your excuses may vary from very practical (such as,  I work Thursday nights) to very lame (such as, it’s not my scene).  If you’re worried about not enjoying AHA!, I can assure you that it has something for people of all ages, dispositions, and budgets.

For those of you who don’t already know, here’s a little background on AHA!, which stands for Arts, History and Architecture.  AHA! was started in July of 1999, and has taken place on every second Thursday of the month since.  AHA! is dedicated to creating free cultural events for locals to join in, and it pulls in local restaurants and businesses in the effort to offer exciting opportunities each month.  AHA! not only highlights the unique culture of New Bedford and its rich history, it also contributes to stimulating the City’s Creative Economy initiatives.

Each month, AHA! focuses on a different theme.  For example, April’s focus was on Sustainability and included an Earth Day celebration parade at Custom Square.  For more details on the sort of events that AHA! features, or to see their schedule for next month, go to www.ahanewbedford.org.  You will also find that the New Bedford Guide regularly reports on some of the highlights you can hope to see at the upcoming AHA! night.  For this article however, I am going to give you 5 general reasons that make AHA! great, and why you should visit AHA! this evening.

1. Music

Music is a central aspect of AHA! and can be found just about anywhere you go.  For those who are into the bar scene, you are sure to find some great bands at Pour Farm Tavern, Rose Alley Ale House, Cork or No Problemos most weeks.  If you aren’t a big fan of bars, or if you’re too young, no worries!  There are often featured performers and an open mic at Cafe Arpeggio, and the First Unitarian Church was featuring organ music.  The J. Kelley Band acoustic show was at Celtic Coffee House from 6-7:30pm.

The music styles vary; I have had the pleasure of hearing some great jazz music at AHA! as well as some very talented rock and blues bands, and even local choruses.  If you’re planning out your AHA! night and hope to take in some music, go check out the site and see who is playing where.

2. Food

It almost goes without saying, but Downtown New Bedford has some great restaurants.  If you’re going to be out for AHA!, you might as well plan to grab dinner.  No matter what budget you are on, you are likely to find something to suit your taste.  No Problemo’s has great Mexican food at an affordable cost, and Rose Alley Ale House is one of the best places around for wings.  Pour Farm Tavern also has quite a tasty menu out now.  However, if you’re looking for something unique and have a bit more money to spend, try out Cork, which is a tapas bar, or Pier 37 which has a one-of-a-kind menu that blends southern cuisine with south coast.

3. Unique Events

If you’re tired of doing the same old thing, AHA! offers some one-of-a-kind experiences that you aren’t likely to soon forget.  For kids there is always some sort of art or craft project to engage in, or even a science events.  For example, this past AHA! featured SEEAL’s 5th Annual Shrink Your Footprint Fair, which was held at the Ocean Explorium and brought together vendors, non-profits, and others to host demonstrations on sustainability.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the prevalence of visual art throughout every AHA! night.  There are numerous galleries downtown that open their doors to AHA! and often host special events.  On an evening when there is good weather, New Bedford is art lovers dream as you can follow the walking map from gallery to gallery.

If you are like me and have a group of friends who are always looking for something new to do, AHA! offers a lot of other very unique (and very free) events to consider.  In March the theme was “Hear Me Roar” and focused on women’s history and empowering women.  I got to watch roller derby girls demonstrate in the middle of the street, and I ended up participating in an all-girl arm wrestling competition at Rose Alley Ale House (which I did not win).  Needless to say my friends and I were talking about what a great time we had for quite a while!

4. AHA! After Hours

AHA! After Hours starts at 9pm, when the other AHA! events come to an end.  AHA! After Hours is usually the best time to catch bands playing at the various bars.  This past AHA! I went to Pour Farm Tavern for After Hours and heard the Neil McCarthy Problem jam out, and I also got to sample some delicious microbrews.  In my opinion, AHA! After Hours is mainly a perfect opportunity to bar hop with friends since there are always a lot of people out enjoying themselves.

5. Community

The community aspect of AHA! is my favorite part.  I feel like these days it’s hard to connect with the community because there are so few events that bring people together (besides shopping at Market Basket of course).  But AHA! brings a diverse crowd together to engage in fun and informative activities.  Every time I go to AHA! I run into someone I know, but even more importantly, I meet new people as well.

This past AHA! was called “Sustainable SouthCoast” and as previously mentioned, it kicked off with really cool “people powered” parade.  The parade featured floats that were carried or pulled by UMass students, and students from New Bedford schools who had partnered together.  There were many unique costumes and memorable creations, all of which promoted sustainability and keeping the Earth clean.  There were many organizations that also walked in the parade to show their unity with the cause, and there was even two marching bands.  Additionally, the parade was kicked off by awarding “Mother Earth” and “Father Sea” to two members of the community who have taken great efforts in fighting for environmental causes in the area.  This year’s “Father Sea” was none other than former Mayor Scott Lang, and the parade start was announced by current Mayor Jon Mitchell.  Seeing residents from all over the SouthCoast pull together for such a fun and important purpose was great, and members of the community had lined the streets.  This sort of quality community building is what truly makes AHA! great.

Photos from April’s AHA!

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The City of New Bedford, The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District, and Downtown New Bedford, Inc., will co-sponsor a paper shredding event on Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 9:00am through 12:00 noon.  The event will take place in the parking lot located across from New Bedford City Hall (at the corner of William and N. Sixth Streets).  Residents and New Bedford area businesses are encouraged to bring their outdated paper items including (bank statements, insurance forms, medical forms, retired tax forms, personal files, receipts, etc.) to be shredded on site by Doc Shredding Corp.

Paper clips and staples do not need to be removed, but the paper items must not be in binders or folders.  A fee of $5 per box will be charged to help cover the cost of the operation and each box should not be more than 40 lbs. Participants are welcome to watch the destruction of up to five of their boxes of paper.  For more than 5 boxes, shredding may be done offsite.

Please contact District Recycling Coordinator, Marissa Perez-Dormitzer at (508) 979-1493 or John Lobo in the City’s Office of Community Services at (508) 979-1692 with any questions.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the Working Waterfront Festival are teaming up to offer 2 one-week summer camp programs for New Bedford children ages 9-10 (entering grades 4 & 5 in the fall of 2012). Designed to give kids an introduction to the history and culture of the working port from whaling days to the present, camp activities will include: hands-on marine science, arts and crafts, daily fieldtrips, chantey singing and more.

The camp will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the weeks of July 30th and August 6th and will be based out of the National Park’s Corson Maritime Learning Center (located adjacent to the Visitor Center on William Street). The camp will be offered free of charge.

Interested families must complete and submit an application form by May 31st. Campers will be selected through a lottery process and notified by June 8th. If you are interested in obtaining an application form, please contact the National Park at 508-996-4095 or the Working Waterfront Festival office at 508-993-8894. Applications may also be downloaded from http://www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org or http://www.nps.gov/nebe/index.htm

The Schwartz Center for Children and McDonald’s of New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Wareham, MA are proud to announce the upcoming 24^th Annual “Fore the Children” Golf Tournament on Monday, June 11^th at Allendale Country Club in Dartmouth, MA.

Friends and supporters of the Schwartz Center are participating in the tournament to raise money for agency programs; all proceeds will be used to provide education, therapy, and medical care to children with disabilities and special health care needs in Southeastern Massachusetts.

In this event, which is sponsored by McDonald’s of New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and Wareham, single golfers as well as teams of four will tee off at the Allendale Country Club in North Dartmouth at 1:00pm on Monday, June 11, 2012.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams, as well as for those individuals coming “closest to the pin” and hitting the longest drive in the fairway. A dinner will be served at Allendale Country Club immediately following the tournament. Businesses also have the opportunity to sponsor a hole on the course, complete with 18×24 inch signage. To register or to inquire about sponsorship, please contact the Schwartz Center at (508) 996-3391.

The Schwartz Center for Children is a nonprofit organization with offices at 1 Posa Place in Dartmouth, MA. It has been serving children with a variety of special medical and developmental needs from birth to age 21 in Southeastern Massachusetts since 1947. Services include a Day School, Early Intervention Program, Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, Regional Consultation Program, Pediatric Specialty Clinics, and a variety of other programs.

If only every holiday were on the weekend.

Holidays give us an excuse to drink, especially the drinker’s holidays.  In 2012, we were blessed with St. Patrick’s Day arriving on a Friday for the first time in what felt like forever, and now we have Cinco de Mayo showing up shortly after on a Saturday night, aka Friday’s equally evil twin.

Most nine-to-fivers with a taste for booze were probably happy to hear this news.  As we get older and attempt to be more responsible, we must also attempt to manage our potential hangovers. Weekend holidays allow us to celebrate to our full potential.

That being said, I’ve assembled a list of five things to do on the fifth of May in the New Bedford area that will hopefully help fill your appetite for entertainment, adult beverages, and Mexican fare, and though some aren’t necessarily Mexican themed, they should still satisfy your need for a fiesta.

5) Buster’s Sports Bar and Grill (227 State Rd., North Dartmouth) features a Cinco de Mayo party which includes drink specials such as $3 Dos Equis and Margaritas all day, as well as $3 Buster Burritos until 5pm.  There will also be live music in the afternoon, and they will broadcast the highly anticipated Mayweather vs. Cotto boxing match that takes place that evening.

4) No Problemo (813 Purchase St.) presents “A Night of Reggae” featuring Adowa Sound Star Boy and Omega Sound Sista Laura, as well as their regular menu of delicious Mexican themed dishes.  No Probs always seems to pack in a crowd on Cinco de Mayo, so don’t expect this Saturday to be any different.

3) Pizan’s (29 Union St.) will host local act Weld Square for “Weld Square Rocks While You Get Rocked” from 12-2am.  There will be $5 sangria and $3 Coronas, as well as a number of other beers on draft and in cans.  Pizan’s isn’t  a big venue, so you can imagine an intense scene for one of New Bedford’s hardest rocking bands. “We’re anticipating there to be at least two broken windows,” said their animated bassist Kevin Nunes.  Weld Square’s debut CD “Femme de Maison” will also be available for cinco dolares ($5).

2) The Tree at Kirby’s Irish Pub (818 Kempton St.):  The Tree is a genre-melding band with a focus on fun and positivity.  I like to consider them a jam-band with a duo of rappers (HiLoe and B-Ez) and a sweet sounding female vocalist (Michelle Oliveri), but they’re much more than that.  You’ll have to check them out to understand what I mean, because trying to describe them with words does no justice to the smooth yet powerful sound they put out.  Show starts at 10.

1) Mi Antojo Mexican Restaurant (95 Rivet St.) is probably the closest representation of authentic Mexican that this area has to offer.  The wait staff isn’t exactly fluent in English, so you might want to brush up on your Spanish, and the food isn’t representative of what many of us are used to, so I see Mi Antojo as the perfect place to step outside your regular routine and into something a bit more Mexican for Cinco de Mayo.  There will be a mariachi band to serenade you while you enjoy the various types of Mexican fare—I recommend you try the tacos with avocado or the pupasas with pork—and various other authentic Mexican traditions will be honored in the celebration.  Oh, and they serve of cerveza and tequila and are open from 11am-11pm.