January 17, 2013 — The following was released by the Working Waterfront Festival.
New Bedford, MA– In September 2013, the Working Waterfront Festival will mark its tenth anniversary. To celebrate, we are excited to launch the Portholes Project, a series of free, monthly programs designed to engage residents and members of commercial fishing communities in conversations about critical issues facing the working waterfront.
Beginning in January of 2013, monthly programming will center around one of the themes we have explored at the Festival over the past 10 years: Sustainability, Safety at Sea, the Future of the Industry, Women in the Industry, Preserving Ports, Fishermen & Farmers, Cultural Mosaic, Tradition & Innovation, and Fact & Fiction. Film screenings, talks, walking tours, author readings, performances, demonstrations, and ensuing discussions will take place at various community sites. Partial funding for the Portholes Project is being provided by Mass Humanities. We are currently reaching out to local businesses in hopes of identifying a sponsor for each month of programs. Businesses that would like more information about becoming a sponsor are invited to contact the Festival office at 508-993-8894 for details.
Our first program, Fishermen on Film, re-visits our most recent Festival theme: Fact, Fiction and Narrative Tradition in Commercial Fishing Culture. This program will take place as part of our ongoing Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series on Friday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park’s Corson Maritime Learning Center (33 William Street). Over the past two years, New Bedford’s fishing industry has been the star of a reality TV show, a feature film, and a documentary! What does this national exposure mean for the fishing industry? Come see clips and hear first-hand from Captain Shawn Machie who is featured in Nor’Eastermen which premiered on the History Channel last fall, writer/director Jay Burke of the feature film Whaling City which centers on the struggles of a fictional 3rd generation New Bedford fisherman, and journalist/film maker Don Cuddy who produced the documentary Finest Kind after making a trip with the crew of the F/V Sea Escape on the eve of the passage of Amendment 16. They will share behind-the-scenes anecdotes and discuss the portrayals of the men and women who work the sea.