5 minute read
By the beach
By Michael J. DeCicco
The wisest beachgoers in town will tell you to head south for the best summertime experience this year.
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By that, they mean the south side of New Bedford and East Beach, where a new floating water recreation center, The Whoa Zone, and waterfront dining at the new Cisco Brewers New Bedford complex are both already attracting a crowd. The WhoaZone off of East Beach is an inflatable on-water Wibit obstacle “ninja” course that is one of six successful WhoaZone locations in five states as far west as Texas. This is its first year in the city; it replaces the floating aquatic recreation course set up at East Beach in 2019 by a different company. This location is here in partnership with the City of New Bedford, explained operations manager Leigh-Anne Hall. The New Bedford native who now lives in Florida when not working for the WhoaZone company said this and every WhoaZone emphasizes variety and safety. "I call it 'American Ninja Warriors' meets 'Wipeout,’" she said. "There's always a soft landing. I tell everyone the number one rule is to have a safe, fun time here." Each “obstacle” can be detached and deflated to make room for a variety of others. The whole idea, Hall said, is to frequently offer swimmers something different. There are more challenging obstacles such as the swings, the roller slide, the hurdle, the monkey bars, the roundabout, and the springboard. But less adventurous swimmers will still have fun on the flatter connectors in between obstacles, such as the balance beams, the roundabout, and the half-pipe. Safety rules include having to be at least seven years old, at least 45 inches tall, able to swim, and to wear one of the WhoaZone safety jackets to be allowed on the course. In fact, there is no other way to get to the course but swim to it.
Its fifteen lifeguards on-staff are all Red Cross waterfrontcertified, assisted when needed by the city lifeguards on East Beach. The staff utilizes walkie-talkies for instant communication between each other and a bullhorn for quick contact with swimmers. Plus, boaters are required to keep a safe distance from the course's perimeter. Hours are from noon to 5:30 p.m., and visitors must book a time slot through the website, whoa.zone/New-Bedford.
BEACH BITES
Just down the road, at the site of the former famed East Beach dining spot, Davy's Locker, now offers an expansive entertainment center of its own, Cisco Brewers New Bedford. The 1482 Rodney French Boulevard venue is a 3.5-acre entertainment complex complete with a stage for daily live music in the summer months, five outdoors bars, and Cisco Brewers Kitchen and Bar, a restaurant with two patios and a rooftop bar. Do the math: that's seven bars in total available onsite. The complex features lots of sand, outdoor seating, a beach, and, though still only in the planning stages, a dock for those coming by water. Alongside the band stage, patrons will find four separate booths: one each for retail items, a brewery, a distillery, and a winery. They face an auditorium-sized outdoor seating area. The water's edge includes a boardwalk and even seating around a fire pit. It's no surprise to hear manager Jennifer McHugh say the new complex "has been extremely successful. There's been a waiting list every day ever since we opened on June 23." No reservations are being taken for dinner seating yet. she said. It's all walk-ins. That will change eventually, but she doesn't know when it will happen. Meanwhile, customers don't seem to mind waiting. After all, while they wait they get to sit at benches with a view of Clarks Cove. "People say they love seeing this property utilized," McHugh said. "People like having a place to sit and outside and enjoy the waterfront. We have had great online reviews on the friendliness and hospitality of
our staff. Success all the way around." Cisco New Bedford replaces Davy's Locker, which closed in 2014 after approximately 50 years in business. The new complex is an offshoot of the famed Cisco Brewers Nantucket, a brewery known for its live music. It's a collaboration between Cisco Brewers and local restaurateur Steve Silverstein, who also owns the Average Joe's restaurant chain and downtown New Bedford's The Black Whale. McHugh, in fact, is in charge at Cisco Brewers Kitchen and Bar after having managed other Average Joe restaurants for 12 years.
History by the sands
At this time of year, also look for more of a crowd at the Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Military Museum nearby at Fort Taber Park. Bill Neiedzwiedz, president of the historical association that operates it, said the facility's attendance increases to up to 20 people in one day during the summer, accounting for much of the average visitor rate of over 8,500 people per year. He said summer attendance is usually walk-ins who say they didn't even it know it was here. Then they are pleasantly surprised. What do they come in to ask about? "It depends," Neiedzwiedz said. "A relative or survivor of a veteran will ask all different kinds of questions. When they see what we have, it changes the looks on their faces. It changes what they think this museum is about. It's more than they expected." Each room of photos, uniforms, weapons, and other military memorabilia are mainly donations from the personal collections of local veterans or their families. Every war in the country's history is memorialized – from the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, to the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars – each in separate sections of the museum. There are even sections memorializing peacetime service. Neiedzwiedz said the museum is most proud of its display of the Medal of Honor local Civil War hero William Downey earned on May 24, 1864 at Ashepoo River, South Carolina. He volunteered as a member of a boat crew which went to the rescue of a large number of Union soldiers on board the stranded steamer Boston, and with great gallantry assisted in conveying them to shore, being exposed the entire time to a heavy fire from a Confederate battery. "He saved 300 troops of color," Neiedzwiedz elaborated. He calls it one of the museum's prized possessions, even though it is partly the reason they do not charge an admission. Federal law says a museum can't charge for admission if it displays a Medal of Honor. Not that this restriction bothers him. Nor does it harm the museum's mission. "This museum is not about war," Neiedzwiedz said. "It's about the veterans of our area who served. Honoring them. From the Revolutionary War to the present day."
