Seven Enjoyable AHA! Events for April 12th

One of my favorite days each month is the second Thursday of the month in downtown New Bedford. Why? Because that’s when downtown New Bedford comes to life with AHA! (Arts, History and Architecture). It’s really the only monthly event that brings people from outside and inside New Bedford in large numbers to the center of New Bedford to experience our city’s rich history, art and architecture. Now that spring is here, AHA! really brings in a crowd. This month’s AHA! theme is Sustainable Southcoast. Here are my suggested events to attend tonight, April 12, 2012. A full schedule can be found online. Printed copies can be found at most businesses in downtown New Bedford.

1. Eco-Friendly Procession/Eco-Floats
Time: 5 pm, parade starts at 5:30 pm
Location: Custom House Square (across the street from Freestone’s and Carter’s)
Details: This is a “people powered” parade with tunes provided by the New Bedford All-City Middle School Marching Band and the New Bedford High School Whalers Marching Band. Some of the float participants include Ocean Explorium, UMD Net Impact Club, Buttonwood Park Zoo, Humane Society Southcoast, Kiddie Kampus, New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District, YMCA Southcoast and Boys & Girls Club of NB.

2. Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) Performance and Open Mic
Time: 5 pm
Location: New Bedford Commons, formerly Ginger Grille (778 Purchase Street)
Details: One of my favorite programs in New Bedford is the Youth Ambassador Program (YAP). These are the same folks that produced the “Walk with Me” music video that provides a fun tour of New Bedford from our youth’s perspective. catch some fun music and participate if you have some musical talent.

3. J Kelley Acoustic Solo Show
Time: 6-8 pm
Location: Celtic Coffee House (42 North Water Street)
Details: Catch the singer/song writer Jason Kelley from the J.Kelley Band. Enjoy a coffee and acoustic show with some friends before enjoying some of the events later in the evening. Check out the J.Kelley Band’s music mix here.

J.Kelley Band Music Video – New Bedford MA

4. SEEAL’s 5th Annual “Shrink Your Footprint” Fair
Time: 6:30-8 pm
Location: Ocean Explorium (174 Union Street)
Details: The Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance, or SEEAL’s goal is to provide environmental awareness and stewardship in Southeastern Massachusetts. There will be vendors, youth exhibits, demonstrations, and non-profit tables with a raffle of great prizes to participants.

5. Free Wine Tasting
Time: 5-9 pm
Location: Travessia Urban Winery (760 Purchase Street)
Details: Travessia offers FREE wine tasting with the purchase of any bottle of wine. Last month, I sampled six delicious wines before making a purchase. This is a great place to kick-off your AHA!

6. Talk with Ruth and Abby, the 1850s Ladies
Time: 6:30-8 pm
Location: New Bedford National Historic Park Visitors Center (33 William St)
Details:  Step back in time and chat with Ruth and Abby as they create traditional crocheted fish using modern day recycled materials.

7. Enjoy Some Art!
New Bedford is a Mecca for art in New England. Several galleries and the New Bedford Art Museum are having special exhibits for AHA.

• New Bedford Art Museum (608 Pleasant Street) – The New Bedford Art Museum has gone through a make over. Tonight, there is an exhibit about of what the future of art will be at the museum, showcasing various forms of artistic expression within our newly renovated gallery space.
• Judith Klein Art Gallery (98 William Street) – “2012 UMASS Dartmouth CVPA Student Exhibit” – 20 students show featuring paintings, sculptures, fiber work, printmaking, drawings and photography. The artists will be at the gallery to talk about their work.
• Gallery 65 (65 William Street) – The Bug Show: Works by gallery members and guest artists including Lasse Antonsen, Chuck Hauck, Elaine McBride and Charles Talley.
• UMass Dartmouth CVPA at the Star Store (715 Purchase Street) – 2012 MFA Thesis Exhibition: View the graduate exhibition in the University Gallery.
• Artworks! (384 Acushent Avenue) – Senior thesis show featuring students from the UMass Dartmouth CVPA program.
• UGLY gallery (246 Union St.) – New York and New Bedford based artists!

These are just my suggestions for this evening. I recommend you visit AHA!’s page to see the full schedule to find out the best entertainment for you. Call, text or Facebook your friends and invite them to downtown New Bedford. I promise you will have a great, unique time!