The Narrows Center is celebrating fourteen years of music that matters and art that inspires with a four-day concert series you don’t want to miss. The Narrows Center for the Arts is a non-profit, charitable organization on a mission to present exciting ways to engage, entertain and unite its community. It is a fully accessible venue, comprised of two visual art galleries, a performance theater and visual artist studios. It is air-conditioned, with a BYOB policy and free parking.

Conveniently located on the scenic waterfront of Fall River, the Taunton River has become the beautiful backdrop for this region’s top entertainment destination.

Founded by a small group of volunteers, the Narrows began as an art gallery with a small performance space. While it has seen many changes and improvements, one thing remains: the invaluable role of its loyal volunteers and staff members, who keep the venue running smoothly on a daily basis.

Another vital component to the venue’s continuing success is the generosity of the Friends of the Narrows, a group of individuals who contribute a significant portion of funds that keep it operating. In turn, the venue rewards them with benefits, including reserved tables to any show of their choice.

Over the last fourteen years, the facility has held over 1,400 concerts, more than 100 art exhibitions, 14 festivals and hundreds of community events.

The music venue holds a capacity of 280 people, giving audience members an intimate and up-close view of their favorite musical artists, and often times the opportunity to meet and chat with them after the show.

While it may be best known for its unbeatable, high quality musical performances, the Narrows Center for the Arts has humbly offered its community much more over the last fourteen years.

The Narrows offers educational programming and dedicates approximately 10 hours a week to People Incorporated, an organization that provides services to people with developmental disabilities. These classes give the students an informative, hands-on experience in the subjects of music and art. It also provides the artists who rent these studio spaces an outlet to teach and share their deep passion for the arts.

The venue also holds school tours of its art exhibits, and hosts the free annual Narrows Festival of the Arts and the Block-a-Palooza. These festivals attract thousands of music fans each year, eager to enjoy an entire day of fine music, food and artistry.

The Narrows Center’s 14th Anniversary concert series begins on November 4th with the California Guitar Trio, captivating audiences with their technical genius and a unique combination of rock, jazz, classical, and world music. This show is $25 in advance; $28 day of show.

On Thursday, November 5th, country and bluegrass musician Tim O’Brien takes the stage for a rare and memorable solo performance. $25 in advance; $28 day of show.

On Friday, November 6th Charlie Hunter, Bobby Previte and Curtis Fowlkes will join together as the Charlie Hunter Trio, performing songs from their latest album that is gritty, greasy and downright celebratory. $25 in advance; $28 day of show.

The Anniversary series will conclude with music legend, folk revivalist and no stranger to the Narrows, Tom Rush performing on Saturday, November 7th. $40 in advance; $45 day of show.

For those of you who have never visited the Narrows Center for the Arts, hundreds of patrons will agree that you are truly missing out. There is an electric energy inside the mill building that connects performers with the people who appreciate their work, and sparks life to the art that resides inside.

The Narrows Center has put Fall River on the map as a cultural destination. It is an economic engine for the City of Fall River attracting over 30,000 patrons to Fall River. Many of those patrons frequent local restaurants, hotels and other service related businesses.

Please join the Narrows Center in celebrating fourteen successful years of music and art, and the many more to come.

The Narrows Center is located at 16 Anawan Street in Fall River, MA. For more information, call 508-324-1926 or also visit narrowscenter.org. You can also like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @narrowscenter.

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This weekend, as Southcoasters consider their dining options, many will make the choice between home cooking and stepping out to a restaurant for a meal. Some, however, will instead get the best of both worlds at one of the area’s premiere culinary events, the Polish Food Fest at Blessed Trinity Parish Church on Plymouth Avenue in Fall River.

It’s an annual event that is not to be missed by local gourmands. All the staples of Polish home cooking are available – pierogis, galubkis, kielbasa and more. And everything is homemade right at the church, by parishioners, using recipes that have been in some cases passed down for generations.

Blessed Trinity is the Fall River parish of the Polish National Catholic Church, so traditional polish cuisine is second nature to its members. And staging the food festival, while requiring a lot of work, is a labor of love for them. Many patrons have been coming for years and wouldn’t miss it.

Dining tables are set in the bright, clean parish hall if you’re inclined to sit and socialize while you eat. It’s a truly neighborly, friendly, family atmosphere. Or if you’re in a hurry, everything on the menu is available for take-out.

In addition to the hot entrees, there’s a vast selection of babka bread and all manner of goodies, Polish and not. Sweets, treats and eats. All at very reasonable prices. You really cannot go wrong. There will be some Halloween treats, chocolate confections, cakes, cookies and other irresistible creations, so be warned. A visit to the baked goods table is mandatory and worth every calorie.

But it’s the hot Polish comfort food that takes center stage. Cabbage soup, cabbage pierogis and potato and cheese pierogis are certainly highlights, but perhaps the most popular selection is the Polish Plate – a little of everything. It makes for a fine meal, one that is impossible to match anywhere.

The Polish Food Fest has become an annual tradition, as a fundraiser for the church but also as a way for the parish to become more a part of the community. Everyone is welcome and few fail to return after having trying the fare just once. It’s just that good.

Authentic Polish food is not so easy to find these days, but if you have never had it, you are missing out on one of the world’s great cuisines. And there is no better way to introduce yourself than with handmade selections available at the Polish food fest.

And if you are a Polish food aficionado, this event is a must.

Located at 1340 Plymouth Avenue, Blessed Trinity Church offers plenty of parking behind the church. The Food fest is open for business on Friday, October 23 from 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 24, from 11:00 AM until 2:30 PM.

Another word of warning – the Polish Food Fest is, to say the least, a popular event. So don’t wait until the last minute – some of the baked goods in particular sell out, so get there on Friday if you can. You might just come back on Saturday, anyway. It happens.

Friday: 3:00pm-7:00pm
Saturday: 11:00am-2:30pm
Facebook: facebook.com/Blessed-Trinity-PNCC-500641490105775
Website: blessedtrinitychurch.org/

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This Columbus Day, October 12, at the Venus de Milo in Swansea, you will find antiquer’s heaven. It’s Lighthouse Promotions’ annual Columbus Day Antique Show & Sale.

Savvy antique collectors have been attending Lighthouse Promotions’ shows for some fifty years now, because they know that the best dealers in the region will be showing their wares here.

Amanda Lynn Orefice, of Lighthouse promotions, explains why. “Shoppers know that the dealers at our shows will have something for everyone. They know what people are collecting.”

Everything from dolls, jewelry and sterling silver to military items, furniture and nautical items will be on display. And there will be merchandise in almost every price range.

“Comics and superhero items are still hot,” says Orefice, “and we always have some dealers who carry those items.”

The Venus de Milo is an ideal place to while away a few hours shopping for antiques. The Empire Grille dining room will be open for lunch, offering their famous lobster dinners, sandwiches and more.

“People will come in and browse, have some lunch and then browse some more,” she says. “It’s just a fun way to buy antiques.”

Vintage items are also very popular and the show will always feature some of these. Mission style furniture is also desirable. As are Asian antiques. All will be represented, among approximately forty dealers.

“We have dealers who come back year after year and many customers who do, as well,” Amanda Lynn says. “There’s just so much variety. If you’re looking for something specific, you’ll either find it or will at least find out where you can get it.”

The jewelry selection is extensive, with many vendors either specializing in jewelry or including it among their merchandise. So you’re sure to find the style you want, in a wide range of prices.

Antique and vintage “industrial” furniture, relatively new to collectors, is also amply represented. You’re likely to find tables, lamps and cabinetry items.

“Our dealers have their fingers on the pulse of the market,” Orefice says, “and they have a level of professionalism and expertise that’s difficult to match anywhere. They know their merchandise and they know what people want.”

It’s not too early to think about Christmas shopping, and the Columbus Day Antiques Show & Sale provides the opportunity to purchase unique items as gifts. But more than that, it’s fun. You never know what you’ll find, which might even be something you didn’t even know exists!

Admission is $6.00, from 11:00 A.M. until 4;00 P. M. with an early buyer’s preview at 10:00 am, for a $10.00 admission. Experienced antiquers know that the early admission can be well worth it. The real deals and most desirable antiques can go early, but there’s just so much on display that that special find can be found throughout the show.

This writer has attended many Lighthouse Promotions shows and try as I might to resist, I have always found something I could not bear to be without. The prices are fair (and often enough more than fair) and the dealers are always helpful. I would not miss it, and you shouldn’t either. These shows are truly the premiere antique buying events in the entire region.

No matter what your interests, from trinkets to tables, from comic books to couches, from knick-knacks to nautical charts, you won’t be disappointed.

The Venus de Milo is at 75 G.A.R. Highway in Swansea, near the Somerset line. The show is on Columbus day, October 12, from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Early buyers preview at 10:00.

If you love antiques and collectibles, you just cannot miss it!

You’ve recently had some wall-to-wall carpeting installed, and there’s a strange discoloration in certain spots. Your new hardwood floors have developed a buckle or maybe the vinyl flooring, installed just weeks ago, has grown a bubble.

Cracked tiles, separating seams, stain-resistant rugs that don’t seem to resist stains at all; a lot can go wrong when it comes to flooring. And when it does, it’s often difficult to determine exactly what did go wrong – was it the installation? Was it a defective product? Perhaps it was just the wrong material in the wrong place.

The installer blames the retailer. The retailer blames the manufacturer. The manufacturer blames the retailer and the installer. Where to turn…

To Northeast Flooring Forensics, that’s where. It’s an independent investigator of every and all flooring problems. Owner John Paul Viveiros quite literally grew up in the flooring business. His father owned a flooring company that Viveiros still operates. Those forty years of experience, combined with many hours of specialized training in flooring forensics, make Viveiros unusually qualified to get to the bottom of the situation when flooring problems arise.

“My job is to find out what went wrong’” says Viveiros. “It sounds simple enough, but it’s something that the consumer just doesn’t have the knowledge and experience to determine for themselves.”

Moisture can be a particularly complicated problem.

“There might have been too much moisture before installation, but there might have been too much moisture present only after installation. Part of my job might be to figure out which it is.”

But moisture is only one possible cause of a flooring problem.

“Every manufacturer has its own parameters; its own guidelines as to what material should be installed for each application and under what conditions. So you might have a great product that’s just installed in the wrong place, or you might actually have a defect in manufacturing.”

Viveiros will work with the consumer as that third-party, disinterested investigator to sort out who or what is the cause of the issue. However, he’ll also work on behalf of builders, retailers, installers, manufacturers and even architects.

“The point of the process is to get it right. Manufacturers will hire me to make sure the installation is correct, for instance. But no matter who has hired me, my job is to give an objective, honest rendering of what the problem is, so we can determine how to fix it.”

For instance, let’s say you’ve had a hardwood floor installed and, over time, the spacing of the floor boards has changed. Northeast Flooring Forensics will typically check the moisture content of the wood itself, but perhaps also the nail pattern.

Viveiros says that clients are often surprised at what turns out to be the source of the problem.

Acclimation is a big factor, he says. Flooring, and not just wood flooring, has to be acclimated. It often has to be introduced to the environment in which it is to be installed, 48 hours before the actual installation.

“If that’s not done, there could be problems later on. It’s just not something people always know about,” he says.

In forty years, John Paul Viveiros has pretty much seen it all when it comes to floors. He’s works with every material: he’s sold it, installed it, repaired it and inspected it. Sometimes the cause of a problem is found where you’d least expect it.

“I had a case recently where there was a discoloration of the carpeting, but just in certain spots. After investigating, we determined that it was actually caused by acne medicine that had been on the fingertips of one of the residents of the house. She had touched the carpet in certain spots and it caused the discoloration.”

“New flooring costs a lot of money. If there’s a problem, call an expert to protect your investment. Sometimes, things wind up in court and we’re able to provide the facts that a consumer needs.”

But other times, the consumer is pointed in the right direction to fix the problem. When you need a flooring sleuth to arm you with the facts, call Northeast Flooring Forensics.

Northeast Flooring Forensics
189 Durfee Street
Fall River, Massachusetts
Phone: 508.673.8333
Toll Free: 1-800-870-7347
EMail: jp@myjvfloor.comFacebook:facebook.com/people/John-Viveiros/100009726407648
Website: myjvfloor.com/

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Walk around the Early Learning Child Care building and you will see something quietly remarkable. If you see seventy children, which you very well could, you will see seventy happy children.

That’s worth a visit by itself.

These children are happy, trusting, engaging and engaged. All of them.

Okay – it’s difficult to tell just how engaged a four-week old baby is at nap time. Except to say that they are engaged in their naps. Which can only be a good thing.

In any event, Early Learning Child Care is a remarkable place. Housed in the former Voke/Tech building on Maxfield Street in New Bedford, it has not only transformed the venerable old edifice into a bright and cheery learning space, it transforms children’s lives.

It’s a diverse clientele – foster kids, working class kids, middle class kids, upper middle class kids – it is in fact the very model of diversity. And of activity. These kids work hard and play hard, in the classrooms, on the playground, in the performing arts, on field trips – all day long.

Except for nap time.

And the staff is equally hardworking, of course – it’s difficult to know who is keeping up with whom. There are three staff in every room, and they specialize in building self-confidence, engendering teamwork and, perhaps most of all, fun in learning.

It’s a bit sneaky, of course – the poor children seem to have no idea that they are learning. They think they are just having fun. And it is fun.

And by the way – Early Learning Child Care is ready and willing to share that fun. There is room for more children to enroll and there’s always room for volunteers. One recent volunteer, who is now an employee, is the reigning Miss New Bedford, Jocelyn Nunes.

As she can tell you, if ever there was an opportunity to get back more than you give, it’s in volunteering at Early Learning Child Care. Do you sew? Do you miss reading stories to kids? Can you carry a tune? Play an instrument? How about cooking? Cleaning? Woodworking? If you have a skill – almost any skill and would like to share it – and make a difference in young lives – this place is well worth checking out. Because it’s fun.

Early Learning Child Care has a serious mission, of course. For those students who are in temporary Foster Care placement, it provides stability and consistency. Foster parents are in short supply, and they are always on the lookout for a family that might want to become a Foster Family. If you’ve ever given consideration to becoming such a family, Early learning Child Care is a great place to start. Just ask.

It’s tough to make friends when you’re being shuttled from home to temporary home. And giving children a head start on school is serious stuff, of course.

But for volunteers and staff, it’s all pretty much a chance to play. And to teach what you know. And play some more.

The program is comprehensive – from infants to ten-year-olds. From 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Before or after school. Early learning can provide transportation to and from school. Mostly, it provides love. It manufactures love.

Seventy happy kids can’t be wrong.

If you need day care for your child, you owe it to that child to look into this special place. If you walk in and walk out without feeling uplifted, you weren’t paying attention. You’ll see staff that were students themselves in the past. You’ll see children blowing bubbles. You might see a pile of bananas.

But mostly, you’ll see a place where children of all ages and from all different backgrounds come together for friendship, learning and – wait for it – fun. No two days are alike at Early Learning Child Care, but there are some constants. A caring staff, a clean and inviting environment, and friends – these are always present. As is the need for children to learn, grow and become confident, effective and happy people.

It all happens in one place–

Early Learning Child Care, Inc.
322 Maxfield Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Phone: 508.996.3774
Email: ELCC@earlylearningnewbedford.com
Facebook Page: facebook.com/pages/Early-Learning-Child-Care-of-New-Bedford

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Yes, you can get the basics, fill your cupboards, stock the fridge – “do the shopping” – at this store. But if you’re a true foodie, you’ll stop by Portugalia Marketplace as much for recreation and relaxation as for mere food shopping.

Not to be smug, but South Coast foodies live a life that others can only experience on cable TV. We’ve got the farms. We have the boutique food producers. We’ve got the farmers markets, the independent grocers, the locavore restaurants. Our local cuisine is a mélange of indigenous and international influences. We drink wine that many Americans don’t even know about. We’ve got great bakeries, some of the best sausages in the world and flan. Every American should have access to flan. But they don’t.

Okay, that might have seemed a little smug, but if you live around here, you know it to be fact. What you might not yet know about is a relatively new entry into the local food scene – Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River. More than an ethnic market, Portugalia is bringing together the exotic and the familiar, the old and the new, the past and the future.

The building itself is a textbook example of the preservation and reuse of an old industrial edifice. The Benevides Family, which has been in the food importing business for many years, spared no expense in the refit and expansion of the small brick mill, nominally on Bedford Street, but fronting on 12th Street, between Bedford and Pleasant.

The original structure has been kept intact but an atrium has been added to the front of the building, providing a modern entrance to the store. Beyond, what were once floor-to-ceiling window bays have become arched passageways to the old mill, now converted to a meticulously clean and light-filled retail space.

From the moment you walk in the door, you know you’re not in your grandmother’s Portuguese market. Portugalia is that, but it’s so much more.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, attractively yet simply displayed, will be the first thing you see. Then, the wooden barrels of nuts, dried beans and various snack mixes. Favas, navy beans, dried peas – these old school staples have been the basis for many a home-cooked and hardy dinner and are now found in the finest gourmet meals, as well.

You’ll also see various and sundry goodies. In fact, there are goodies of all kinds all over the store. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

And here’s another warning – you may walk into Portugalia in a hurry, but there’s something about this place that relaxes you, that slows you down. For whatever reason, it’s a place where you want to take your time, to enjoy and indulge yourself, where grocery shopping is suddenly not a chore, a task to be dispensed with as quickly as possible.

Yes, you can get the basics, fill your cupboards, stock the fridge – “do the shopping” – at this store. But if you’re a true foodie, you’ll stop by Portugalia Marketplace as much for recreation and relaxation as for mere food shopping.

There’s a small café, for one thing. Coffee, cappuccino, espresso, latte – yes, of course. Gourmet sandwiches – goes without saying. But this is Portugalia’s Goodie Central! Custards and pastries and chocolate concoctions – all manner of goodies. It’s not that you wouldn’t expect to find them here – it’s that they are so unexpectedly irresistible.

That’s your third warning. Enter the café at your own risk. But enter it.

Just don’t stop there. There’s so much more. The wine selection is extensive, but even so, has a handpicked quality to it. Of course, there are many Portuguese wines to choose from, but there are also some of the best and best-known low and mid-priced domestic wines available. If you’ve ever wondered where to get a bottle of wine that you have first encountered at an area restaurant, Portugalia Marketplace is a very good bet.

The deli section – the charcutaria – features cheese from Westport’s Shy Brothers Farm as well as entire wheels from Portugal. Fall River made chourico. Milk from Tiverton, Rhode Island. Marinated olives and roasted red peppers from – well, who cares where they’re from? They’re delicious and that’s what really counts.

One of the iconic foods of the region is cod, of course. Cod has been dried and salted for at least five hundred years in North Atlantic countries, and it can be fairly stated that the codfish is the original New England staple. At Portugalia Marketplace, you will find an entire room of salt cod.

Yes, an entire room. Every grade and size of salt cod is offered here – mostly from Canada and Norway – it’s another example of the way that Portugalia brings together the local and the exotic – in a delicious way.

And now, your final warning – the prepared foods section (follow your nose to find this). Know this now – you will go home with something from the prepared foods section. Try the chicken dinner. Or the bacalhau. Or anything.

Portugalia Marketplace is a food purveyor that combines a decidedly Old World vibe with a thoroughly contemporary foodie mentality. Foods from (literally) down the street and food from across the ocean. Traditional favorites in a modern venue.

The regional food economy is changing fast – new food producers, new growers and new ways to access the food they provide are coming on line every year. It’s an exciting time for area foodies. Portugalia Markeplace is at the center of that excitement. At once a cutting-edge niche food retailer and a traditional ethnic market, Portugalia is a must-visit, an essential – a no-brainer.

And they have goodies. Lots of goodies.

And there’s even more to look forward to. In season, Portugalia Marketplace has an expanded role in the local food scene, offering with the produce of local farmers. The old, the new, the familiar, the exotic – Portugalia Markeplace is destined to become a local foodie mecca, bringing together the best of traditional Portuguese foods with the finest that the local agricultural economy can offer.

It’s a little slice of foodie heaven.

Portugalia Marketplace
489 Bedford Street
Fall River, Massachusetts
Phone: (508) 617-9820

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Sat: 8:00am-7:00pm
Sun: 9:00am-2:00pm
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Portugalia-Marketplace
Website: portugaliamarketplace.com/

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There’s a brand new entertainment option coming to the South Coast. Well-known area developer Chester “Big Mac” MacDonald is still looking for a location for his latest venture, but hopes to begin construction some time this spring.

The new facility will be called EasyLand, and with it, MacDonald hopes to redefine leisure activity – or at least the “activity” part. Catering to tourists and anyone who wants a good time without breaking a sweat, EasyLand will feature several familiar amusements and pastimes, but without the effort so often required at existing facilities.

Plans include miniature golf, bowling and shopping. While we’ve all seen that before, EasyLand aims to make these staples of the leisure industry, well, easier.

For example, at a traditional miniature golf course, players walk from hole to hole. MacDonald thinks there is a better way. The EasyLand course (to be called EasyGolf) is designed so that each hole comes to the players.

“The entire mini-golf course will be set on three giant turntables,” said MacDonald. Golfers will be able to play a hole, step back onto a platform, sit on a provided couch and simply wait for the next hole to arrive right in front of them.

“There’s very little walking that way,” says MacDonald. “You’re pretty much standing still all the time you’re playing. We thought about golf carts, but decided that the turntable actually required less effort. You’d still have to get in and out of carts. We wanted to make it easier than that.”

Another feature of EasyLand will be a sit-down bowling alley, outfitted with special spring-loaded chairs that will allow bowlers to get all the english they want on the ball with almost none of the effort they’d need at traditional bowling venues. The chairs are designed to hold up to four hundred pounds, which will, according to MacDonald “open up the sport to many Americans who have been excluded due to poor bowling alley design.”

“A lot more people would get out there and bowl if it were a little less physically taxing. It takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, seated bowling is just plain more fun,” says MacDonald.

“And you won’t even have to walk to the snack bar – we’ll have waitress service. We’ve designed it so all you have to do is sit there and bowl. Which is what people want.”

But it doesn’t stop there.

MacDonald wanted to include batting cages at his new facility, but realized that typical cages wouldn’t quite fit his concept.

“Those bats are kind of heavy, and it takes a lot of ‘oompf’ to hit a ball.” The solution? Wiffle ball batting cages.

“We tried it out,” says MacDonald, “and found that you can even hit a wiffle ball while sitting down, which will be an option – and a popular one at that, I’d bet. Being able to sit while you play is an important part of the overall concept of EasyLand. I think it will be a hit.”

There will also be a drive-thru gift shop for souvenir hunters and three drive-thru restaurants – an ice cream stand, a burger and fried-foods eatery and EasyLand’s signature dining facility, EasyBaconLand.

“We tried to make everything drive-thru – it just wasn’t possible,” said MacDonald. “But we’ll come pretty close.”

Plans do include a free shuttle from the parking lot to the entrance, however.

EasyLand will have an educational aspect as well, which MacDonald felt was “important” – The EasyMuseum, which will feature exhibits such as Recliners Through the Years, The History of the Remote Control and 101 Things You Can Do While Lying Down.

“It’ll be very much an interactive experience for visitors,” said MacDonald. “They’ll travel through the exhibits on a people-mover, but they can get off anywhere they like and rest. Visitors will be able to sit in the recliners, for instance, or use the remote controls – but I think the 101 Things exhibit will draw the most interest.“

“There really are more activities than you might think that you can do while lying down. We’ll bring that all to light with such displays as The Internet: Supine Surfing, Recumbent Recycling and Prone Word Processing,” said MacDonald. “This exhibit will open up a whole new world to those who have been just plain working too hard at daily life – and they’ll be having fun while they learn.”

“Easyland will be a truly unique recreational facility, designed to fit into the modern lifestyle.”

MacDonald hopes to find a suitable property soon, but admits, “I haven’t been working very hard at it.”

Guess that goes with the territory.

Firstly, I should tell you that I’m a Fall River boy, born and bred. But as I am, in the near future, moving to Mattapoisett, which I gather is part of the Greater New Bedford Area, I have been exploring that city recently. And I must say, the people of New Bedford are a strange lot.

And frankly, I’m worried about the New Bedford economy.

One thing that jumps at me – you people spend an awful lot of time drinking coffee in… buildings. Do your cars not have cup holders? Do you have so little to do that you can afford the time to sit, sometimes in groups of three or four, and sip coffee and coffee-like liquids while remaining stationary and conversing among yourselves? Is this a byproduct of high unemployment?

In Fall River, we get our coffee at drive-thru windows. From big, well-known coffee vendors. Because we just don’t have time to sit around.

I guess.

But beyond coffee, I’ve noticed some other stuff that makes me think New Bedford is a very poor and backward city. For instance, it seems like everywhere you go, you see used stuff for sale. Entire mill buildings are chock full of old stuff. Like that place where you can get a claw foot tub or a kitchen sink.

In Fall River, we rip claw foot tubs out and replace them with nice, new fiberglass units. Usually while sipping nationally-known coffee products. Usually while completely gutting old houses of their overly-ornate and difficult to dust woodwork. For all I know, these old tubs wind up in New Bedford, where you then buy them and put them in your squalid homes.

And what’s with all the used clothing for sale? Can you not afford new clothes? That place with the old bath tubs. Right inside that building, there’s a guy who sells old clothes. Some kind of Goodwill type place, I guess. Mostly out of fashion, impractical, outdated clothing. And he seems to be thriving.

Worrisome. To say the least.

But let’s get back to Downtown. I understand the struggle, but where are the stores? Every other building houses a museum or some sort of “historic” site – buildings that would otherwise be vacant, I can only guess. I mean, does any city really need a “bethel?” Does anyone even know what a bethel actually is?

I’ll tell you what you might want to do – pave some streets. Not to brag, but in Fall River, we’ve ripped out or paved over all the cobblestones. Cobblestones are not really very good to drive on. This is obvious to anyone in Fall River and has been for years. But New Bedford, ever the backwards community, seems not to have gotten that memo. It’s pretty simple – cobblestones slow down traffic. And driving over them can even cause the lid to rattle right off your coffee cup. Trust me. Cobblestones went out with… I dunno – whaling. It’s no wonder you have so many people who are forced to walk in your downtown, New Bedford. You just don’t get it.

Look – I’m not trying to beat anyone up, here. I’m only trying to help. To pass on the lessons we’ve learned in Fall River. It’s a tale of two cities.

I’m just concerned. If you can’t manage to fill your city with stores that sell new goods, you’ll never get with the 21st Century. You used to have that great Star Store. Now? It’s filled with listless, underachieving young people who have no intentions of getting real jobs. They want to be “artists”. Good for them. But what do they do for your city? They paint, they sculpt, they do whatever “artists” do, but do they work? No. They sit around and drink coffee – that’s what they do.

Ever wonder why so many people go to Downtown New Bedford at night? It’s because, except for sipping lattes, there’s nothing to do there during the day. How often is the Ziterion Theatre open in the daytime? Answer: not very. What are you supposed to do – visit a bethel? Seriously?

I guess what I’m saying is that New Bedford could take a lesson from Fall River. Our downtown is pretty much one street. You know where to find the dollar store, the nail salon and yes – if you must buy used stuff – the pawn shop. And except for the potholes, which can often be avoided, you won’t ruin your car’s suspension getting there. There’s always a place to park in Fall River. So we don’t have to walk.

Don’t get me wrong – I’ll give New Bedford another try. But I’m bringing my own coffee.

You can follow Faust Fiore on his blog: http://faustfiore.blogspot.com/