Things to Do in New Bedford Tonight

New Bedford, the old whaling capital, hosts one of the most remarkable cultural events in America: the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, the largest Portuguese feast in the world, which has filled Madeira Field with music, food, and tens of thousands of celebrants every August for over a century. The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center — The Z to locals — books national touring artists into a restored 1923 theater downtown. AHA! Nights open galleries and museums for free monthly arts evenings, and the working waterfront, still the highest-value fishing port in the country, gives the city's festivals a salt-air authenticity that can't be manufactured.