Working Waterfront Festival launches Portholes Project

THE PORTHOLES PROJECT will kick off on Friday, Jan. 18 with the Fishermen on Film program. / COURTESY WORKING WATERFRON FESTIVAL
THE PORTHOLES PROJECT will kick off on Friday, Jan. 18 with the Fishermen on Film program. / COURTESY WORKING WATERFRON FESTIVAL

NEW BEDFORD – As part of its 10th anniversary celebration, the Working Waterfront Festival is launching the Portholes Project, a series of free, monthly programs to spark conversation about issues facing working waterfronts.

Kicking off on Friday, Jan. 18, the monthly program is designed to engage residents and members of commercial fishing communities in conversations about critical issues facing the working waterfront of Southeastern Massachusetts.

Each program will center around one of the themes the Working Waterfront Festival has explored over the past 10 years: sustainability, safety at sea; the future of the industry; women in the industry; preserving ports; fishermen and farmers; cultural mosaic; tradition and innovation; and fact and fiction.

Programs will include activities such as film screenings, talks, walking tours, author readings, performances, demonstrations and discussions, and will take place at a variety of sites within the community.

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The inaugural event, Fishermen on Film, will re-visit the most recent festival theme: fact, fiction and narrative tradition in commercial fishing culture.

The event will take place as part of the Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series on Friday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at New Bedford Whaling Historical Park’s Corson Maritime Learning Center at 33 William St.

The event will include clips from a documentary, feature film and reality TV show that showcase New Bedford’s fishing industry. 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,” and journalist/film maker Don Cuddy, who produced the documentary “Finest Kind” will share behind-the-scenes anecdotes and discuss their work.

The Porthole Project is being partially funded by Mass Humanities, though the organization is currently reaching out to local businesses in hopes of identifying a sponsor for each month of programs.

The Working Waterfront Festival is a project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts.

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