“New Bedford, Massachusetts – All are welcome to the most amazing birthday party of the year! On Thursday, September 12, 2024, AHA@25 welcomes all ages to the streets of New Bedford to celebrate its 25th anniversary as AHA! celebrates its history and looks to the future of AHA! New Bedford. There will be a few surprises along with dancing in the streets, live music, a 90’s costume parade, kids’ activities, a pub crawl, circus arts and of course, birthday cake for the hundreds of attendees.
In 1999, a collaboration among city leaders including artists, businesses, churches, nonprofits and other stakeholders led to the creation of AHA!, an innovative approach to arts and culture programming. The idea was simple: create unique, interactive and free programs on the streets of downtown each month and invite everyone downtown. Since its inception, AHA! has been a steady and joyful presence on the streets of downtown New Bedford each month, becoming a showcase for the talent and vitality of its community and bringing thousands of people downtown. Over the years, several well-known artists have performed at AHA!, including award-winning musicians Grace Potter and Esperanza Spaulding and pianist and Tony Bennett’s music director Tim Ray.
“For 25 years, AHA! has thrived thanks to the incredible support and contributions of our program partners and the Greater New Bedford community,” commented Kim Goddard, Executive Director of AHA! New Bedford. “We look forward to toasting the next 25 years and inviting everyone to a huge outdoor street party to celebrate AHA’s journey and the community spirit that has made downtown a vibrant center for arts and culture. The evening will reflect what makes AHA! so special – a unique, creative blend of art, music and history experiences.”
On September 12, the Block Party festivities begin at 4 p.m. and will take place in three major “activity zones” within the historic Seaport Cultural District: the New Bedford Whaling Museum plaza and parking lot, the Fiber Optic Center loading dock on Centre Street, and front and lower Union Street overlooking the waterfront.
Activity zone 1
Plaza and parking lot of the Whaling Museum
Family-friendly fun from 4 p.m.
• Sing “Happy Birthday” and enjoy AHA!’s free birthday cake (while supplies last) next to a three-dimensional, six-foot-tall “fake” birthday cake built by Michael McLean and “covered” with a word mosaic hand-lettered by muralist Mandy Fraser, using words provided by the community to describe what AHA! means to them.
• Live music – Toe Jam Puppet Band, 7-piece South Coast Brass Band
• New Bedford Symphony Orchestra in the Drawing Room
• Craft tables with the Fishing Heritage Center, The Women’s Fund and others
• Zeiterion Lawn Games and Bubbles
• Food trucks courtesy of Round the Bend Farm, Sorbae Frozen Treats and Ground Floor Coffee
Activity zone 2
Streets front and center
Start 5pm
• Live Music – The Jim Robitaille Trio, jam session with the South Coast Brass Band and hip hop cypher artist Hendrick Hernandez and The Bobby Keys Trio.
• Stilt walkers for circus arts
• Scavenger hunt with the Buzzards Bay Coalition
• 90s-inspired snacks and wine tasting from Cork Wine & Tapas
• Rose Alley Tavern pop-up
Activity zone 3
Lower Union Street
Start 5pm
• Aerial acrobat of circus art
• Community mural creation with DATMA
• Fashion show and catwalk in 1999 style (public participation desired!) *
• Tying sailor knots and printmaking with artist Alex Buchanan
• The orange Dodge Charger “Dukes of Hazzard”: “General Lee” and autographs with Chris Hensel
• Outdoor dance party with DJ Mikey Life
• Cultivator Shoals Popup
• New beige popup
• Arcade Popup PLAY
• Moby Dick Brewing Co. pop-up.
AHA After Party
Cork Wine & Tapas, Cultivator Shoals, Moby Dick Brewing Co., New Beige, PLAY Arcade, Rose Alley Tavern
Start 8pm
• Grab a “Mixtape” cocktail named after hits from 1999
• Music videos from the 90s and nostalgic sweets and snacks
• Live bands
• DJs play hits from the 90s until the early hours
Interactive, creative pop-up experiences can be discovered by the public as they stroll between the three activity zones. There will also be additional programming in and around downtown AHA! Program partners such as Community Weaving with Elaine Alder (she/her) creating a public sculpture of northern right whales out of marine debris called “The Water We’re Swimming In” in Captain Paul Cuffe Park. They will be accompanied by an intimate but lively performance by musicians from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. Wind chime making at the New Bedford Main Library, live music and art at the Alison Wells Fine Art Gallery, the public unveiling of “Catch the Tradition,” the Fishing Heritage Center’s new art installation, and Five Pillars of Hip Hop at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum with live performances and graffiti painting. The program gets more fun every day, so check out the website for more information: www.ahanewbedford.org/next-aha
AHA@25 is made possible thanks to the generous support of sponsors BankFive, Lanagan, Long, Mallowes & Peters, Moby Dick Brewing Co., South Coast Almanac and Whaling City Sound. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. If interested, please contact Kim Goddard at [email protected].”
