New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
After twelve successful years of producing the Festival as an annual event, the Festival will become a biennial event. The next Festival will take place in 2017. During 2016, a strategic plan will be developed to insure the long-term viability of the Festival.
In 2004, the Working Waterfront Festival was created to bring visibility to the fishing industry by providing a forum for the commercial fishing community to tell its’ own story and an opportunity for the public to gain a fundamental understanding of the lives, culture, skills, and knowledge of the people who are part of the working waterfront.
Over time, the two-day Festival evolved to present a myriad of year-round programs including school programs, a summer camp, a community oral history project, a monthly film series, walking tours, weekly seasonal cruise ship presentations, exhibits of industry art, a radio series, a book, and a CD. These programs were developed with the intention of keeping the commercial fishing industry and the working waterfront in the public eye year-round.
The establishment of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC) represents the continued evolution of this work. The Center was created to provide a permanent home for telling the story of the New Bedford fishing industry past, present, and future.
During 2015, the Festival and the NBFHC partnered to present the year round programs. In 2016, the NBFHC will continue to present these programs as it works toward the creation of a bricks and mortar facility.
A project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern MA (CEDC), the Working Waterfront Festival is immensely grateful for the steadfast support of the many individuals, organizations, and businesses who have given their time, energy, and resources to create the event each year.
As plans develop for the 2017 Working Waterfront Festival, updates will be posted on our website www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org and Facebook page.
