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YOUR WEEKEND….outside the city limits

I’m doing something entirely different this week for YOUR WEEKEND. Over the past year, there can be no doubt as to my New Bedford bona fides – and my well-known belief  that the city is the region’s hub.

But a hub works both ways – it draws people to its bosom and also knows when to let them venture out into the wild world. So, ALL of this weekend’s events are BEYOND the city limits. Go forth and enjoy. New Bedford is confident you’ll be back. Just be sure to return before sundown if you’re a vampire or by midnight if you have a propensity to turn into a pumpkin.

Wild Honey Pie Camp

BEGINNING FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 – The Wild Honey Pie is thrilled to invite you to their fifth annual Welcome Campers, a summer camp music festival weekend being hosted at Camp Lenox, 2034 N Main Rd, Otis  in Western Massachusetts, Friday, September 8 through Sunday, September 10. Weekend passes include free meals (plus access to food trucks), lodging, plus musical performances around camp and summer camp activities such as kayaking, arts and crafts, tennis, nature hikes, campfires, volleyball, basketball, kickball and more. Ticket info here.

Apple of your eye

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 – The 38th annual Apple Peach Festival happens today and tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 10 in Acushnet, 10:00am – 6:00pm both days. This is a come from miles around type of event from which you’re guaranteed to come home with at least a bag of apples. The Long Plain Museum at 1203 Main Street is your starting point – the orchards are your destination. Free admission, kid-friendly and red delicious.

Narrows Festival of the Arts

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 – If Fall River has one thing that I wish New Bedford had, it would be the Narrows – that terrific all-around arts and performance venue that’s in a class by itself. (Okay – and I wouldn’t mind seeing that battleship anchored in Clarks Cove…) Today, the 16th annual Narrows Festival of Arts happens along the Fall River waterfront featuring “music that matters” and “art that inspires.” The fest runs throughout the day, from 11:00am to 7:00pm and the best part is that it is FREE. Narrows Center for the Arts is located at 16 Anawan Street, Fall River. Find out more about the Festival of Arts here.

The Game’s Afoot

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10 – The nifty Somerville Theatre at Davis Square, Somerville screens the long-thought lost, silent 1916 flick, “Sherlock Holmes” this afternoon at 2:00pm. Here’s the deal: This William Gillette film is a vital missing link in the history of Sherlock Holmes on screen. Representing a rare opportunity to see the actor who originated and played Holmes over 1300 times on stage reprising the role for screen. This newly-restored edition faithfully retains the play’s famous set pieces – Holmes’s encounter with Professor Moriarty, his daring escape from the Stepney Gas Chamber, and the tour-de-force deductions. It also illustrates how Gillette, who wrote the adaptation himself, wove bits from Conan Doyle’s stories ranging from “A Scandal in Bohemia” to “The Final Problem,” into an original, innovative mystery play. Get tickets here. (Add on – William Gillette actually lived in a castle in Connecticut which is a few hours drive from New Bedford and open for tours! Info here.) Silent films at the Somerville Theatre are presented with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis.

So, that’s your weekend away from New Bedford. See you back here at Groundwork! on Monday!

Steven Froias