Working Waterfront Festival

The Working Waterfront Festival

Celebrating Commercial Fishing — America's Oldest Industry

Celebrating our 10th year with the Portholes Project


Celebrate Commercial Fishing, America's Oldest Industry!

Join us in New Bedford, America's largest commercial fishing port, to learn about the men and women who harvest the North Atlantic. Walk the decks of a scalloper, dine on fresh seafood, see fishermen's contests, and watch a cooking demonstrations. Experience the workings of the industry which brings seafood from the ocean to your plate.

New Bedford, Massachusetts
Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 3 — Steamship Pier

2012 Festival Dates:
September 28 & 29, 2013

Saturday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Festival held rain or shine!

View pictures and video clips of what people experience at the festival!

Want to help? Volunteer!

Portholes Project

2nd Annual High School Poetry Contest

We are pleased to announce our 2nd annual high school poetry contest. Area High School students are invited to compose original poetry about the commercial fishing industry. Poems about fishermen, shoreside workers, fishing boats, fishing families, and other aspects of the working port may be submitted in any style. Students are welcome to submit multiple pieces.

Submissions must be postmarked no later than April 30. The winning poet receives $25. Selected poems will be published in the Festival Program Guide and students may be invited to read their poems at this year's Festival (September 28-29). Click here to download an application.

Working Waterfront Festival and National Park
Team Up for Dock-U-Mentaries

Monthly Film Series Continues Friday, May 17th

Films about the working waterfront are presented on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.

The next programs in the series are:

Friday, May 17 at 7:00 PM - In Altro Mare

In Altro Mare

Gloucester, Massachusetts is home to over 6,000 residents of Sicilian origin, many of them from the town of Terrasini, near Palermo. In Altro Mare looks at fishermen, their families, and the community established by the Italian Americans of Gloucester. Director and anthropologist Franco La Cecla interweaves the stories of Gloucester Sicilians with those of immigrants who returned to live and work in Terrasini, suggesting a diasporic experience of being caught between two worlds. The film pays particular attention to changes in the fishing industry that have challenged the viability of smaller-scale independent fishing in Gloucester, such as environmental regulation and globalization. The film will be followed by a discussion about the historical and present role of immigrants on the waterfront.

Upcoming Programs

  • June 21 - No Pretty Prayer - A film about "the Fort," Gloucester's Sicilian fishing neighborhood and the threat of gentrification.
  • July 19 - Life By Lobster - Told from the perspective of a 20-year old native whose roots connect him to the lobster fishing community, this film delves into an industry that is steeped in both tradition and the setbacks associated with living Life by Lobster.

The Working Waterfront Festival and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park invite you aboard the F/V Huntress

Take a virtual tour of a working scallop boat.

Working Waterfront Festival Voices from the Port Radio Project

VOICES FROM THE PORT is a series of short audio pieces based on oral histories collected as part of the Working Waterfront Documentation Project. The programs are designed to provide a window into the history and culture of the working port, and encourage listeners to visit New Bedford, America's #1 Port to learn more. The project was made possible with funding from Mass Humanities.

Click here to listen.

Working Waterfront Festival