Celebrate Working Waterfront Festival 2014

Calling ship-to-shore about the free 2014 Working Waterfront Festival that will be filled with contests, delicious local seafood prepared in front of you, live music, vessel and harbor tours plus children's activities, whaleboat races, maritime artisans and poetry on Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept.28 on New Bedford's historic waterfront.

This very popular festival honors the fishing families that play a significant role in the industry, from family owned shoreside businesses to our hero fishermen! I had the pleasure of chatting with two of the most loyal organizers of this festival, Laura Orleans and Kirsten Bendiksen. We talked about everything from this year's theme to chantey singing.

No other local festival acknowledges and applauds our fishing industry and it's spin-off businesses like the Working Waterfront Festival. When you total it, our fishing industry generates nearly one billion dollars yearly to our community. New Bedford simply could not exist without these dollars and this industry, America's oldest!

For information call (508) 993-8894 or www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org. Festival hours are Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.