New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
National Park to host “A Voyage to Health” exhibit July 15-August 24
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park is currently hosting “A Voyage to Health,” a traveling exhibit developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine. This six-panel exhibit explores the recent revival of the ancient arts of navigation and voyaging that first brought the people of Hawai‘i to their island homes. The Hokulea, a native people of Hawai’i, have embarked on a seven-year journey in traditional canoes around the world to reacquaint themselves with the traditional ways of navigation and to seek ways to restore the collective soul of the people. “A Voyage to Health” will be on display in the National Park visitor center from July 15 through August 24, 2013, and is free and open to the public. The park visitor center is located at 33 William St., New Bedford, MA. For more information on their voyage, go to www.hokulea.org.
The connection between New Bedford and Hawai’i goes back centuries. While many people are familiar with the variety of people involved in New Bedford’s whaling trade in the 19th century, it is not widely known that up to 20% of the New Bedford whalemen were Hawai’ian. This longtime connection between the two locations has linked them socially, culturally and, of course, financially.
Jen Nersesian, superintendent of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, remarked, “The exhibit’s focus on navigation and health of our water and earth is quite naturally linked to New Bedford, which has always made its living from the ocean. The Hokulea voyages underscore our collective need to find our way, literally and figuratively, to a path of stewardship for our oceans and our world.”
