Who Remembers…The Whaling City Festival?

It used to be that every year you could look forward to an annual city tradition. You could rely on it as sure as day and night would follow one another. There was no thinking about it. You didn’t need to wonder if it was going to happen. Everyone in the greater New Bedford area just knew: every middle of July just head to Buttonwood Park for the Whaling City Festival.

It may seem a bit odd to do a “Who Remembers…?” on such a recent subject like the Whaling City Festival, but it’s fresh in memory and easier to recall. Besides, this series is about reminiscing and the Whaling City Festival had 45 years worth of memories to reminisce about!

For just shy of five decades, locals, other New Englanders and even people as far away as Florida would make the trip. Typically 150,000 people would pass through the “gates” over the course of the weekend. Founded in the late 1960s, the festival was originally very small and run by one or two volunteers and a group of local community organizers. That element was always present through the festival’s run and grew to the point where it needed a board of directors and scores of volunteers.

These types of festivals are as American as sliced pie, baseball and Ben Franklin. What’s not to love? A family oriented event where the kids could scream their heads off and they had free license to eat sweets, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, cotton candy and all the other things that we parents would usually keep them away from. The kids could be maniacs!

Beyond the amazing aromas that would waft through the grounds from things like the blooming onion, Italian sausages, steak sandwiches, and fried dough, there were amusement rides and games provided by family owned and operated, Fanelli Amusements and Carnival.

Remember the balloon water race? Skeeball, the ring toss, dart balloons, duck pond, free throw Basketball, and other games that you knew you likely weren’t going to win, but played anyway. Kind of like heading to the casino. You go to have fun, but don’t expect a big win. But if you did win the giant stuffed animal, you could carry it around like you were king of the festival. The boss, the chief, the POTWCF.

The rides at the Whaling City Festival weren’t like going to Six Flags or Disney World – you wouldn’t find a rotating, spinning, roller coaster going 80mph, but you would find rides that were geared towards younger and smaller kids. Remember the Round Up, Cliff Hanger, Pharaoh’s Fury, Ferris Wheel, Super Slide, or the quintessential festival ride and perennial favorite, the carousel? Dun-Rite was the company that provided a number of popular bubble bounce amusements which are a blast for kids and adults alike.

There was always a karate or Aikido demonstration. There was fun face painting for the kids – what’s a festival or carnival without kids with painted faces running about? The were science shows, petting zoos, a car and bike show, wrestling and for a number of years a laser light show. Of course, there was always a musical line up consisting of many local acts and when possible a famous act that had a golden yesteryear.

Finally, there were many merchants and craft tables. Originally the items offered were high quality, hand-crafted, artisan, or exotic. When city regulations made it more difficult for the organizers to generate revenue, by forcing it to close earlier, for example, it got increasingly more difficult to convince high quality vendors to make the trip from all over the country. A few hours doesn’t seem like much, but it could be the difference between breaking even and making a profit.

This brings up why the festival – and a city tradition – eventually was canceled for good. After a small incident in 2006 – where police were involved- attracted the attention of city officials, a clamp down began. The first punch in the gut came when festival organizers were forced to close earlier. This alone would be the biggest blow to the festival’s profitability and its death knell.