Dance to a swinging jazz quartet, listen to a classical trio, enjoy some rock ‘n roll – or do all three.

Russell Morin Fine Catering will provide an array of petit open-face sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres, seasonal pasta, and sweet pastries – served with freshly brewed Colombian coffee, decaf, gourmet teas and a cash bar.

Tickets: $50 per person (children: $15, under 18 years), includes entertainment, food, and kids activities. Call Alison Smart: (508) 997-0046 ext. 115.

At 8:30 p.m., view the city’s fireworks display from inside the Museum’s newly restored Bourne Building. The evening includes a silent auction of wonderful gifts and keepsakes.

Proceeds of New Year’s Swingin’ Eve will support the education programs of the orchestra and the museum.

This English watercolor of the ship Iona in its original frame is one of many consigned and donated nautical antiques in the Scrimshaw Weekend's Benefit Auction on May 14 at 8pm, proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. None of the items are from the Museum's collections. (Photo by Richard Donnelly)

Scrimshaw experts, collectors and fans from around the world have another reason to look forward to the 22nd Annual Scrimshaw Weekend at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, May 13-15. It features three days of new presentations and activities, including a first-ever public auction of consigned nautical antiques on Saturday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater.

The world’s only forum dedicated to the indigenous shipboard art of whalemen, Scrimshaw Weekend attracts enthusiasts from four continents to share the enjoyment of collecting and researching this remarkable artwork at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of scrimshaw.

The weekend kicks off at noon on Friday, May 13 with a Marine Antiques Show and Swap Meet, expanded by popular demand. On Friday evening, the keynote address titled “‘Built’ Scrimshaw: Types, Tools, and Construction Methods” is presented by James Vaccarino, J.D., and Sanford Moss, Ph.D. at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater. A full day of special programs devoted to scrimshaw on Saturday will wrap up with a cocktail reception at 5:00 p.m. and gala banquet at 6:00 p.m. The banquet will be followed by a public auction of consigned and donated nautical antiques at 8:00 p.m. in the Cook Memorial Theater, with proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Special exhibitions and an optional fieldtrip on Sunday are also planned.

Marine Antiques Show and Swap Meet

On Friday, May 13, from noon to 5:00 p.m., the second annual Marine Antiques and Swap Meet will feature for sale high quality marine antiques including scrimshaw, nautical instruments and tools, whaling logbooks, ship models, photos, paintings, prints, New Bedford memorabilia, and more in the Jacobs Family Gallery. Entry fee for the Antiques Show and Swap Meet only is $5, or free with museum admission or membership.

Scrimshaw Plenary Sessions

On Saturday, May 14, plenary sessions from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. will include, “Care and Feeding: Taking Care of Your Scrimshaw – Expanded,” with Conservator and Curatorial Intern, D. Jordan Berson, M.A., M.L.S.; Scrimshaw Preservation and Conservation Q&A Session; “Pictorial Sources of Scrimshaw in Institutional and Private Collections” with Jack H. T. Chang, M.D.; “Pictorial Sources of Scrimshaw in the New Bedford Whaling Museum,” with Stuart Frank, Ph.D., Senior Curator, NBWM; “Scrimshaw in the McDowell Collection”; “Pirates and Female Pirates on Scrimshaw,” and more.

Sessions will also include a Scrimshaw Market Report and Q&A with marine antiques dealer, Andrew Jacobson; an update on “A Comprehensive Catalogue of Scrimshaw in the New Bedford Whaling Museum,” with James Russell, Museum president; Richard Donnelly, book photographer, and Sara Eisenman, designer; Nautical Antiques Auction overview with Richard Donnelly, and a Collectors’ Show-and-Tell.

Public Auction of Consigned Nautical Antiques

On Saturday, May 14 at 8:00 p.m., guest auctioneer Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions, LLC, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will preside over the public auction of a wide array of consigned nautical antiques including scrimshaw and whale craft, marine paintings, engravings and lithographs, log books, charts, antique photos, nautical instruments and more in the Cook Memorial Theater. A featured expert on the popular PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, Ron’s career in the antiques business spans four decades. He established Northeast Auctions in 1987, now ranked among the largest auction houses in the United States.

The public auction will consist of consignment and donated items only, with proceeds to benefit the New Bedford Whaling Museum. No items are from the Museum’s collections.

Approximately 150 lots will include many fine examples of scrimshaw, including whales’ teeth, whale bone busks engraved with various subjects, whale bone fids, a whale ivory pie crimper, fine inlaid sewing box from the Nye family, five canes including lady’s leg and fist examples, cribbage board, carved whale’s tooth amulet, lady’s leg pipe tamper, hand & cuff bodkin, whale bone clothes pin, large whale bone carved spoon and more. Auction listings and photos are online at www.auctionzip.com.

Preview of auction items in the Resource Center begins Friday, May 13 from noon to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday, May 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend the preview and auction at no charge. Left bids will be accepted. No phone or online bidding. Payment: cash, check and major credit cards accepted. There is a 15% buyer’s premium and Massachusetts sales tax is applicable to buyers without a valid resale certificate.

The fee for Scrimshaw Weekend, including admission to the Museum, all open galleries, Scrimshaw & Marine Antiques Show, scheduled meals, all plenary sessions and refreshments: $335 (Museum members $295) before May 1. After May 1 the fee is $370 (Museum members $330). Tickets to Saturday’s banquet only: $75 each.

On Sunday, May 15, an optional all-day fieldtrip will head to Nantucket Island and its Whaling Museum for a “behind the scenes” tour of its outstanding scrimshaw collection, including the museum’s off-campus storage facility. A special visit to an extraordinary private whaling collection will include a reception hosted by the owners. The bus will leave at 7:30 a.m. from the New Bedford Whaling Museum, returning by 8:00 p.m. The price is $235 and includes luncheon at the famed Jared Coffin House, all motor coach and ferry transportation.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Northeast Auctions, LLC of Portsmouth, NH, and the Maine Antique Digest, who have helped make Scrimshaw Weekend possible year after year.

To register, contact: Visitor Services, (508) 997-0046, ext. 100, or frontdesk@whalingmuseum.org

Russell Morin Fine Caterers will provide a festive smorgasbord of petit open-face sandwiches, Swedish meatballs, a sumptuous assortment of hors d’oeuvres, seasonal pasta, and a delicately sweet array of petit pastries – served with freshly brewed Colombian coffee, decaf, gourmet teas and a cash bar. At 8:30 p.m., guests will view the city’s fireworks display from inside the Museum’s newly restored Bourne Building.

The evening will include the drawing of the Whaling Museum’s grand prize raffle: A seven-night cruise to Bermuda for two aboard the Celebrity Summit®, the pinnacle of elegant cruising – with concierge class veranda stateroom – sailing roundtrip from Port Liberty, New Jersey on June 5, 2011. Raffle tickets are $100 each, and limited to 100; giving participants a great chance to win this exciting vacation donated by Cruise Holidays of Lakeville, MA.

Proceeds of New Year’s Swingin’ Eve will support the educational programs of the orchestra and the museum. Tickets: $50 per person. Call Alison Smart: (508) 997-0046 ext. 115. asmart@whalingmuseum.org

“This level of recognition from the National Endowment for the Humanities is a great honor, and I have every confidence that the Museum’s supporters will step up to meet this ambitious challenge,” said James Russell, President and CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

In a letter supporting the Challenge Grant application, Senator John Kerry wrote that growth in the Museum’s endowment “will ensure its long-term success, and further enhance its ability to share our rich history with residents and visitors from around the world.”

Congressman Barney Frank, who advocated for this award, noted, “the museum serves as an invaluable and unique resource that has been of great benefit to both scholars and the general public.  This funding will have a long-term impact, ensuring that the museum will be able to sustain and grow its highly-respected humanities exhibitions and educational programs for future generations.”

Each year a percentage of the permanent endowment’s value is disbursed, which funds approximately 7% of the Museum’s operating expenses. These include exhibitions, educational programming, collections care, and all public programs.

“The Museum relies on charitable contributions for more than 75% of our operating funding each year,” said Russell, “The endowment helps relieve some of that pressure by providing a reliable annual income stream. The NEH Challenge Grant represents an exciting milestone toward our long-term goal to have 25% of annual expenses covered by the endowment.”

The Museum’s grant received the NEH’s We the People designation in recognition of efforts to strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.

Senator Mark Montigny, Representative Tony Cabral, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park superintendent Jen Nersesian, and New Bedford Public Schools superintendent Dr. Mary Louise Francis all contributed letters of support for the Museum’s application.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency dedicated to supporting cultural initiatives throughout the country by providing grants to improve classroom learning, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other institutions.

For more information contact:
Maureen Coleman, Senior Director of Development
508 997-0046, ext. 116

Here’s an example of an Emoji sentence from Moby Dick:

Read more about Fred’s Emoji Dick Project at Kickstarter.

Calliope Pina Parker is a sixth-grader who reads as many as 10 books a week and favors Harry Potter.  She is an avid user of libraries, borrowing from across the region. When budget cuts in Hull not only sheared the local library’s funding and hours, but also cost the town its state certification last month, Calliope took matters into her own hands.

Since January Calliope had been thinking about organizing a reading marathon. That was when her dad, Mark Parker, brought the family to see a friend participate in the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s annual reading of “Moby-Dick’’ – not yet one of Calliope’s favorites. But she appreciated the experience and thought about arranging her own reading marathon, which she did.  A March 6th readathon and bake sale was held, with wizardly cupcakes and “magic wand’’ frosted pretzel rods, raising awareness about the library’s circumstances and collecting money for the nonprofit Friends of the Hull Public Library.

Read the full story as posted by Eric Moskowitz at boston.com

NEW BEDFORD, MA (03.12.10) – - On Friday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m., Co-Chairs Patricia A. Jayson and Eugene A. Monteiro will host the inaugural winter fundraiser, Bermuda Shorts and Knobbly Knees, at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Ditch the winter doldrums and join folks at the Whaling Museum for a fun-filled, laid-back, Bermudian-themed affair. Caribbean style hors d’oeuvres, entrées, and tropical desserts will be provided by Russell Morin Fine Catering. Festive cocktails are sponsored by Gosling’s Rums of Bermuda, featuring their trademark concoctions, Dark ‘n Stormies®, Dark ‘n Skinnies, and aged sipping rum. Moby D Beer, a locally craft-brewed version of the American Ale, and sumptuous red and white wines from Travessia Urban Winery will also be on tap.

Entertainment will feature live Calypso and Jazz with the PanNeubean Steel Band, as well as a silent auction and raffle. Attendees in Bermuda shorts and black socks will win a door prize!

This event is sponsored in part by Henry J. Wheelwright of UBS Wealth Management. Proceeds will support programming at the Whaling Museum.

Tickets are $65 per person and include food, drink and entertainment. For reservations visit www.whalingmuseum.org/bermudashorts or call Alison Smart at (508) 997-0046, ext. 115