AHA! Night 5-10-2026

Good morning and welcome to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. This program highlights non-profit and charitable organizations and the work they do to make the South Coast a better place to live and work. Speaking of non-profits, AHA Night in New Bedford is right around the corner. It's happening May 14th in downtown New Bedford. The theme, Preservation Celebration. Perfect for New Bedford. As usual, there's a lot going on. AHA Director Kim Goddard joins us now to tell us more Good morning Kim. Good morning. The first thing that caught my eye when I looked down the list of items was the washing and waxing, washing and waxing of the Whaleman statue three to six outside the downtown public library. What is that? Yeah, yeah this is the first annual wash and wax treatment of this historic statue which is just outside the library and the art curator is going to be on hand answering questions about the whole process and a lucky few patrons who come by can help with the process. This is a statue that was created by Bella Pratt and has been fully restored to its original finish but it does need a lot of care every year so they'll be washing and waxing. This is an AHA event. Yeah. Oh I think it's wonderful and I hope a lot of people show up and just catch what's going on. This is an iconic statue. It is New Bedford. Yeah. And clearly I know that many people must say well it's not, you know, it's not my New Bedford. I live in the North End. Whatever. It's New Bedford. It's the symbol of New Bedford. Whaling, you know, we're not hunting whales anymore the way we did in the 1840s but this is a symbol of New Bedford, a symbol of New Bedford's courage, a symbol of New Bedford's people and hopefully a lot of folks will show up and check this out. Washing and waxing of the Whaleman statue. More preservation in the city of course at the Nathan and Polly Johnson House on 7th Street. That tour begins at 6 p.m. on the 14th. A wonderful job of preservation there by the New Bedford Historical Society. Yeah this is a real treat because the house isn't always open to the public so we're thrilled that the Historical Society has made that possible. Yeah so as you mentioned there's going to be docent-led tours from 6 to 7 30 and you know this house was the very first free home of Frederick Douglas and his wife Anna and it was a home as you mentioned of Nathan and Polly Johnson who were black abolitionists. And again the tours begin at 6. The building has been well preserved and it's right across the street from the Douglas Park which is kind of a new addition to New Bedford. Yeah, Abolition Row Park. Abolition Row Park. Yeah, beautiful. And it's just a wonderful little area there. Stop by the Nathan and Polly Johnson House on 7th Street on AHA night tours beginning at 6. Again more preservation talk from 6 to 7, Kim, at the Roach-Jones Duff House and Garden Museum. A young woman named Laura Parish will be there. She is not a preservationist but she's got some wonderful ideas. Yeah she's done some great work there and this is a talk that's actually co-hosted by both Roach-Jones Duff House but also Whale and you know as you mentioned she doesn't have a lot of formal background in this area but she's done some amazing work in restoring the Whale House which is on Madison Street. So she's going to talk about that project but also just sharing some of her recent work with the Crowell Farm and give folks that attend some best practices and processes that she's learned along the way. All right, it's been mentioned on this program before a new exhibit on the 50th anniversary of the Magnuson Stevens Fisheries Conservation Act at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center on Bethel Street. That law, that federal law, is an important and controversial law for New Bedford fishermen. It was hailed when it was passed. It was kind of a joyous occasion but as fishermen later learned, as we all later learned frankly, this was a conservation act. This was a law on how to conserve the fishing grounds and you know after its passage 30-40 years later it became quite a controversial law. People were upset. They felt they could catch more than they were being allowed to catch and so it has an important history. The law still stands today and you can learn all about it at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center on May 14th, a new exhibit on the 50th anniversary of the Magnuson Stevens Fisheries Conservation Act. There'll be speakers including many people who were around when the law was passed in 1975, so 76. That'll be from 5 to 7 30 that night. All right, so it sounds like a wonderful display and important to tell about New Bedford. You are listening to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. My guest is Kim Goddard, director of AHA Night in New Bedford. You can check it out Thursday, May 14th in the downtown. It's all free. Where is it beginning this month, Kim? Well, we're kicking things off from the store lobby where you can grab a program and experience the Curious Figure exhibit that's going to be taking place that was launched last month. So that's a nice place to start as you plan out and plot out your night, but one of the fun things about AHA is you really could start just about anywhere you choose, looking at the program, looking on our website to decide what fits your fancy. So there's a lot of activities going on, a real preservation celebration at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on Johnny Cake Hill. What's happening there? Well, they're always involved in AHA Night. We love that. Like many of the museums downtown, it's free admission that night. They've got a number of things taking place. They've got an exhibit called Forging Independence, Building a Nation, and this marks the 2250 anniversary that we are all celebrating around the American Revolution. So they're connecting historic events to present-day questions around independence and nationhood. In addition, they have this ongoing exhibit called Look Pleasant, Please. It's all about early photography, which is fascinating from the 19th century. And then Epic South Coast is going to be on hand and holding an old-time fiddle session. Sounds like a fun night. You could go to the Whaling Museum and have a lot fun. Stay there for two hours. Lots to do. We don't recommend that. We encourage everyone to go around town and sample a little bit of everything, but there is certainly plenty to take in there. Now look, it's always a feel-good event, the New Bedford Public Schools Art Show at Paul Roderick's Administration Building. It's running from 4.30 to 7.30 on the 14th. Now, if you can make it up the front stairs, I was a student at that school. I made it up and down there. But if you can make it up there now, quite a show. Well, and the bands, the school bands, will be there to help you along the way as you march up the steps, which is great. I mean, when you go inside that building, every floor is chock full of amazing artwork from all of these students. It's really impressive. And it's appropriate that AHA Night is actually right in the middle of Art Week South Coast, and here we are, the future artists right there that we can celebrate. All right. Again, I just can't say it enough. I know I've been to the show, not lately, but I've been to the show, seen some of the work that's done. Wonderful. From the little kids to the high school kids. It's just terrific. A lot of talent. And look, even if your child is not Rembrandt, or one of these other great artists, I know how proud you feel when you see something up there like that. When your kid's art gets displayed, it's pretty exciting. And great for the youth as well to see that for themselves, right? Bring the kids along. They'll love to see their artwork displayed, I'm sure. Okay, there are some other arty things going on, or artsy things going on. Right, yeah. After you've taken the exhibit, yeah, you can start creating your own art. Bring the kids, if they're inspired from the show, and bring them over to, say, Play Arcade, the Art Museum, or Pilgrim United Church, because they all have interactive activities, from block printing to making stained glass art. You are listening to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. My guest, Kim Goddard, director of AHA Night in New Bedford. Check it out on Thursday, May 14th in the downtown. It is all free. Sometimes we don't mention that enough. It's all free, a free night out, downtown New Bedford, with lots of things to see and do. What would AHA Night be without music? Well, it'd be without music, and that'd be kind of sad. We would never let that happen. All right, that's right. Thankfully, folks at the Zyterian and the Harbor Hotel have opened their doors for music, plus AHA After Dark. That's right. So many of the restaurants and bars downtown are offering those experiences. You mentioned the Zyterian down in their speakeasy with Wampatronica, the hotel with the Button Brass Band, of course, but the Poor Farm with Neil McCarthy Trio, the National Club with their DJ Ang Keep, and Play Arcade with some adult karaoke. There's also Cork with Funky Cat Duo. Okay, there's a lot going on. Yeah, a lot to take in. A lot going on with music, and music, one of the staples, really, of AHA Night. AHA, as of course, they review, they look at, and sometimes they'll look back. In the case of like the Wailman statue, it's a look back at some of that, learn a little history about that, but it's art, history, and architecture, and it's really a very wonderful, wonderful evening that Kim and her cohorts have planned. Well, and we encourage everyone to check back at the website, because events get added every day up until the night. And a reminder that everything we've talked about and much, much more is listed on the AHA website, ahanewbetford.org, times, venues, more details available at ahanewbetford.org. So Kim, I'd like to speak with you for just a moment about the AHA-led effort to come up with plans to invigorate downtown New Bedford. I know there've been a number of meetings, not quite ready, I guess, to announce a plan. Is that right? That's right. This is really about prioritization. We've been collecting a lot of input from the community around their aspirations for downtown and the priorities for downtown, and this has really become a project effort. We're partnering with the DMV Inc. team, the EDC, the city, and two consultants who specialize in this work. About a week ago, we had another update meeting, and we had a lot of good input on the priorities. So this is going to inform this work, and there's much more to do, but we're making good progress. Okay, and you've had some recent meetings where things are starting to flesh out a little bit. Yeah, right. So, you know, sussing out the priorities, whether, you know, it be around concerns around parking, marketing of the downtown, just making sure that the downtown stays vital and attracts folks, keeping all of our small businesses alive and well. I'm not sure you have a timetable, but when do you expect to release the final document? Well, we'll be seeing a recommendation from the consultants this summer, and then there'll be more discussion and work to figure out next steps based on that recommendation. Okay. And we'll be sharing updates along the way, you know, making sure everyone's aware of where we are and what's next. And what kind of reaction do you think you'll get from city leaders? Well, I think we all understand that no one organization can solve all of this. We have to work together, and we're really seeing an interest from all sectors to participate and step up and join in. Any cleanups and other activities coming up in May? Well, we just had our mirror day cleanup on May 5th, where the, you know, the date of the week matches the number of the month. So for all your listeners, we just had our cleanup, but look forward to having them participate next month. June 6th. That's right, yeah. And our kids from the... Nativity Prep. Very active in it. And in fact, they've made their own trash litter picker uppers through their art class, which is great. So we use those as we collect. We just collected about 50 pounds, and we're well over the 300 mark of pounds of litter that we've collected so far with their help. Wonderful exuberance of youth. Terrific. All right, my guest has been Kim Goddard, the always busy director of AHA Night in New Bedford. That is a monthly public gathering on the second Thursday of the month, highlighting art, history, and architecture in and around New Bedford, in and around downtown New Bedford, I should say. Kim, thanks for coming in. Always a pleasure to see you. And of course, June is a big one. Oh yeah, pride. Look forward to coming back and talking about that. Very good, okay. Next, a world-renowned musician returns to New Bedford to play the historic organ at St. Anthony of Padua Church. Town Square Sunday continues in just a moment.