Community Boating Center, Inc. (CBC) is pleased to announce that the 2025 Opening of the Bay, Oceans of Opportunity fundraiser, is being held Saturday, May 10, 2025 from 6 -10 pm. This year’s event will be at Kilburn Mill, 127 W Rodney French Blvd, New Bedford, overlooking Clarks Cove and CBC’s headquarters. Guests will enjoy dinner, dancing and a silent auction. All proceeds from the celebration will go toward providing scholarships for youth of Greater New Bedford for CBC’s Summer Youth Sailing Program.
CBC connects the youth of Greater New Bedford with mentors to enhance their lives. We use boating as a tool to instill important life lessons such as integrity, sound judgement, and teamwork. In 2024, 88% of the children attending CBC were from low to moderate income families who simply cannot afford summer programming. To help us do this, we need YOU to join us for this premier event, which has become one of the area’s most anticipated evenings. Support of the Opening of the Bay enables CBC to INVOLVE area youth age 5 to 24 in fun, hands-on activities using boating and the marine environment. CBC takes kids out of their comfort zones and expose them to opportunities they never thought would be possible.
“We are thrilled to host the Opening of the Bay at the Kilburn Mill, on May 10,, 2025. Our biggest yearly fundraiser gives us the capability to provide as many local area kids the opportunity to attend our summer youth sailing program. The ocean is New Bedford’s biggest resource and every child should have the opportunity to experience it,” Andy Herlihy, Executive Director.
Individual tickets are now available and can be purchased online at https://www.communityboating.org/ootbhome2025/
For more information on tickets, serving as a sponsor, or providing auction contributions, please contact Amy Larkin at 508-992-9219 or visit the Community Boating Center website at www.communityboating.org All members of the community are invited to attend, and are encouraged to purchase tickets soon as this event usually sells out.
Community Boating Center is dedicated to enriching the lives of local youth by connecting them with mentors and exposing them to a new and challenging environment built upon a foundation of trust and respect. In addition to the summer youth program, CBC offers family and adult lessons, power-boating instruction, our Fall and Spring Sailing into Knowledge program, based on REACH, US Sailing’s STEM education program and our boat and model boat building in the Winter.
