AHA! Night Will Honor Poet Everett Hoagland With Moving Tribute

AHA! Night in New Bedford will honor award winning poet and community activist Everett Hoagland during a tribute at Gallery X on August 14. Hoagland passed away earlier this year.

Everett Hoagland’s Lasting Impact on New Bedford

Hoagland was a longtime professor at UMass Dartmouth, the author of award-winning books of poetry, and was selected as New Bedford's first Poet Laureate. AHA Director Kim Goddard spoke about the tribute and other AHA events this week on Townsquare Sunday.

"Gallery X is the perfect location for this tribute," Goddard said. "There's a stage there where people can go up and share their thoughts about Everett and what his work meant to them."

What to Expect at the Gallery X Tribute

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and is being billed as "A Farewell and a Celebration – A community gathering rooted in spoken word, memory and tradition."

AHA! Night’s Summer in the Seaport Theme

AHA's theme for August is "Summer in the Seaport," with lots of activities centering around the city's art, history and preservation.

Much of the action is happening in and around Custom House Square, including tours by the Waterfront Historic Area League of some of their iconic properties in the downtown area. Also, there will be dancercise classes at Wings Court at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Taunton Federal Credit Union is hosting seashell painting and friendship bracelet-making in its parking lot.

"Puzzles, Chairs and Pops" debuted last year during AHA! Night, and is returning on the 14th.

"It's this unique mashup of puzzle-making, musical chairs and the like," Goddard said. "Sky Jelly, the Middle Eastern blues band, will be there to provide the music for the puzzle-makers. It's a really fun event."

Other Live Music Highlights for August 14

Live music is always an important part of AHA! Night. Darlene "Lady D" Andrade will perform Thursday night starting at 5:30 p.m. outside 109 William Street. For jazz lovers, the John Stein Quartet will perform two sets at the Jazz Wall (23 Centre Street) at 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Bob Marley tribute band Lively Up will perform from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Custom House Square.

Listen to the Complete Interview

If you would like your nonprofit featured on Townsquare Sunday, please email the host at jim.phillips@townsquaremedia.com.