From Wampum to Fado: What to See at New Bedford’s AHA! Night

AHA! Night on the second Thursday of every month is a great place to learn what makes New Bedford tick, along with taking in the art, history and architecture that's made the Whaling City famous.

Kim Goddard is director of AHA! Night in New Bedford and she visits Townsquare Sunday every month to preview upcoming events.

Wampum, Games and Cape Verdean Music

The next AHA! Night is Thursday, September 11 and the theme for the evening is a celebration of New Bedford cultures. It starts with a discussion of wampum at the Bushwood Tailors OppShop, located at 763 Purchase Street, at 5 p.m.

"Wampum is actually beads and jewelry cut from a quahog clam shell, and Hartman Deetz, a Mashpee Wampanoag, will be there to talk about his work with wampum jewelry," Goddard said.

Outside the shop, you can learn how to play a traditional Azorean marble-and-dice board game, and then check out an AHA moment at the Stepping Razor Barbershop: a sonic voyage to Cape Verde, with traditional music from the Harmony Band from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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For those of you into knots, visit the International Guild of Knot Tyers Exposition at the New Bedford Whaling Museum from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. It's a three-day event celebrating New Bedford's maritime traditions while highlighting knot-tying practices from around the world.

More music is on tap at 6 p.m. with a performance by a Fado quartet led by Sandy Batista in the museum's Lagoda Room.

Art, Exhibits, and Historical Reenactments

Gallery X is presenting a historical reenactment of the New Bedford Textile Workers Strike of 1928, adapted from the Spinner Publication book The Strike of '28. The performance starts at 4 p.m.

The New Bedford Art Museum on Pleasant Street is holding receptions for two photography exhibits: "The Shape of Who We Are: Exploring Identity" and "I Return with a Feeling of Us: The Photography of Anthony Barboza." The receptions run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This is just a fraction of the events happening Thursday, September 11 on AHA! Night in Downtown New Bedford. Check out ahanewbedford.org for times, locations and details.

Why AHA! Night Brings New Bedford Together

According to Goddard, it's all hands on board when it comes to AHA! Night.

"It's a big collaborative effort," she said. "The businesses, nonprofits, the artists, restaurants and the like, they all lean in to AHA! Night."

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