Summer Events at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

Summertime is the best time to enjoy free entertainment in your local national park!  Aoife Clancy will perform Irish and maritime music in the garden area of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, downtown New Bedford, on Thursday evening, August 4, from 6:30 to 7:15 PM as part of its Thursday evening summer concert series.  Then, on Saturday, August 6, from 12 noon-2 PM, Dean Rantz will demonstrate blacksmithing in the garden, while Ruth and Abby, the 1850s ladies, offer hands-on crafts for children.  The Saturday afternoon activities are part of the park’s Maritime Heritage series.  The concerts and maritime crafts are offered free each week at the park during July and August.

Aoife Clancy – Aoife Clancy (pronounced “Eefa”) brings a refreshing new voice to folk music, one that ranges from traditional Irish songs to ballads and contemporary folk.  Aoife comes from the small town of Carrick-on-Suir, in Co Tipperary, Ireland, where her musical career began at an early age.  Her father Bobby Clancy of the legendary Clancy Brothers placed a guitar in her hands at age ten, and by age fourteen she was playing with her father in nearby pubs.  For the past four years Aoife has toured extensively doing no less than two hundred dates a year throughout the United States and Europe.  She has been a featured soloist with orchestras such as the Boston Pops and Cincinnati Pops and, while performing with Cherish the Ladies, collaborated with the Boston Pops on their Grammy nominated Celtic album.  Now with seven recordings under her belt in the last decade, Aoife has clearly established herself as one of the divas of Irish and contemporary folk Music.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996 to help preserve and interpret America’s nineteenth century whaling industry.  The park, which encompasses a 13-block National Historic Landmark District, is the only National Park Service area addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social, and environmental history of the United States.  The National Park visitor center is located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford.  It is open seven days a week, from 9 AM-5 PM, and offers information, exhibits, and a free orientation movie every hour on the hour from 10 AM-3 PM. The newest exhibit, Communities of Whaling, explores the connections between this city and five local ethnic communities whose roots trace back to whaling: African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Azoreans, Native Americans and West Indians.  The visitor center is wheelchair-accessible, and is free of charge. For more information, call the visitor center at 508-996-4095, or go to www.nps.gov/nebe.
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