- Celebrate Pride at the AHA! Pride Block Party: The Queer Arts Council of New Bedford presents the sixth annual AHA! Pride Block Party on June 13, featuring artists, performers, vendors, and more. This year the event takes place at the Steeple Playhouse and upper William Street between 6th and 8th streets. Sponsored by New Bedford Creative.
- Get on the water: Explore New Bedford’s working waterfront with a New Bedford Harbor Cruise. Go beyond the famous Hurricane Barrier into Buzzards Bay for a Seal and Seabird Cruise with the Cuttyhunk Ferry Company. Rent a kayak for a paddle in Clark’s Cove at The Blue Lane Kayak Rental out of the Community Boating Center. Take a ride on the New Bedford Launch boat to explore waterfront dining. Dip your toes in or dive fully in and participate on June 22 in the annual Buzzards Bay Swim, an open water swim across the outer New Bedford Harbor with a beach party featuring a steel drum band and brunch with coffee and local beer.
- Catch a show! Music and Entertainment: Check out Zeterion’s Stage Door live at the Kilburn Mill with Ali Wali on June 6. Head to Madeira Field on June 14 for the Zeiterion Presents: Get the Led out, “The American Led Zeppelin.” Madeira Field welcomes the first ever RPRC Fest on June 15 featuring a multi-genre lineup including New Bedford-based A Wilhelm Scream. Don’t miss the first of the City of New Bedford Summer Sound Series block parties featuring the Felix Brown Band on June 28.
- Unwind in style at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum annual Garden Party: Explore the museum’s historical sprawling gardens on June 7 while enjoying seasonal hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.
- Go global at the New Bedford Whaling Museum: Learn about the Niuean barkcloth in the museum’s collection. Explore the museum’s scrimshaw collection, contextualized alongside carved decorative arts and material culture made by Indigenous community members from across the Pacific and Artic in the exhibition The Wider World and Scrimshaw (on view until November 11).
- Eat local seafood at the first ever New Bedford Oysterfest on June 15 hosted at Cisco Brewers in collaboration with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.
- Take a Guided Tour: Join a ranger from the Whaling National Historical Park and learn about New Bedford’s history, architecture, art and more. Tours are offered Wednesday through Sunday. Embark on a walking tour with the Preservation Society on the second Thursday of every month throughout the summer. Indulge in a culinary journey with New Bedford Food Tours.
- Set Sail on the historic Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey on June 29 for a journey into the sunset and learn about New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry. This 156-foot-long schooner carried fishermen to Grand Banks, Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and served as an artic explorer and Cape Verdean packet ship before returning to Massachusetts in 1982 from the Republic of Cape Verde.
- Embrace your wild side at the Buttonwood Park Zoo: Unwind with the zoo’s animal residents while enjoying delicious bites, cocktails, and live music during the Soiree at the Zoo on Thursday June 27. Get the whole family in the groove every Monday with local family band sensation The Toe Jam Puppet Band.
- Explore world-famous art: Visit the New Bedford Art Museum to explore rotating exhibitions and a new addition to the museum’s permanent collection, a breathtaking chandelier by the revolutionary master of glass, Dale Chihuly. View the exhibition, Pathfinders: Paving the Glass Revolution in the U.S. until July 14. Reimagine with the opening of the Massachusetts Design Art & Technology Institute’s, DATMA, summer series, TRANSFORM 2024: Reduce, Revive, Reimagine starting June 14th. Don’t miss the unveiling of the sculpture by renowned Lisbon street artist Bordalo II.
