Fall River Heritage State Park announces summer events

FALL RIVER — Department of Conservation and Recreation is planning a full slate of events at Heritage State Park this summer including the following:

JUNE:

Saturday, June 15

Creative Arts Network's Waterfront Art and Music Festival will be held from 1 to 8 p.m., on the Meadow. The third annual Waterfront Art & Music Festival features live music, artisan tents, strolling performers and food for sale. All ages. Rain or shine Free.

MEET PHOTOGRAPHER MARK CHESTER:

11 a.m. in the Visitor Center Theater. As a special highlight to launch the festival, photographer Mark Chester will discuss his book “The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape – Photographs of New Americans,” now on exhibit in the Visitor Center. Chester will be joined by immigration lawyer Jennifer Lorena to discuss the lives of modern day immigrants

Wednesday, June 26

LUNCH MEETS Lecture Series, noon to 12:45 p.m., in the Visitor Center Theater. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the park and join us for a look at the history of Fall River. UMass Dartmouth Professor Dr. Paula Noversa Rioux explores Portuguese immigration to Fall River in the Age of Textiles with “Bring you friends from the island: Portuguese settlement in Fall River at the turn of the 20th Century.” Best for ages 16 and up. Free.

Saturday, June 29

25th annual Saint Anne's Credit Union and WSAR’S summer concert: 4 to 7:30 p.m. on the Meadow. Headlining are The Sugarbabies, a collective of musicians and performers from Berklee College of Music. Free/Weather permitting.

Weekdays, June 24 to Aug. 23

FREE LUNCH IN THE PARK

June 24 to Aug. 23 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., outside the Visitor Center. Heritage Park welcomes Greater Fall River Re-Creation’s popular free drop-in summer lunch program for kids under 18. For more information, call 508-679-0922 or visit their website: www.gfrrec.org

Ongoing, Daily

COMMUNITY GALLERY EXHIBIT: Mark Chester’s

“The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape – Photographs

of New Americans”. Through June 27.

TWO NEW GALLERY FEATURES:

From Slavery to Freedom: African Americans and Maritime History. On loan from the Commonwealth Museum, this exhibit explores the complex relationship between people of African descent and the sea and celebrates the triumphs of Frederick Douglass and Captain Paul Cuffe; the success of whalers and mariners of color, and the resilience of the survivors of the slave trade. Through June 27.

“Yankee Baleeiros! The Shared Legacies of Luso and Yankee Whalers. On loan from the New Bedford Whaling Museum. This traveling exhibit celebrates the interwoven Luso-American stories of the Azorean, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian communities to the United States. Through Aug. 1.

SCREENING DAILY:

The newly restored film "The Fabric of Fall River: Self-Portrait of a City" is showing daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the theater. Free. The film showcases the park's 2019 theme of celebrating the People and Cultures of Fall River.

All programs are free and open to the public. An adult must accompany children. Reasonable accommodations available upon request. Free parking is available in the DCR Lot at 5 Water Street, Fall River. For more information or to register, call 508-675-5759 x500.