The New Bedford Whaling Museum's Moby-Dick Marathon: What to know before you go.

NEW BEDFORD — It's a whale of an event for the New Bedford Whaling Museum as its 28th Annual Moby-Dick Marathon kicks off.

The marathon will bring thousands of scholars, students, local families, visitors, and Melville superfans to the New Bedford Whaling Museum at 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford. With the community reading nestled in and around a half-scale replica of a 19th-century whaling ship, participants will feel immersed in the setting Melville captured all those years ago.

What is the Moby Dick Marathon?

This a unique 25-hour read-a-thon of Herman Melville’s literary masterpiece, Moby Dick. The New Bedford Whaling Museum partners with the Melville Society Cultural Project for the annual event to celebrate Melville’s 1841 departure from the Port of New Bedford and Fairhaven aboard the whaleship Acushnet.

The readathon begins at noon on Saturday, Jan. 6, and continues for 25 hours of live reading through Sunday, Jan. 7. The museum will be free to attend on Saturday and Sunday. The pace of the reading is projected to be 30 pages per hour concluding at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Opening reader Michael J. Bobbitt, the Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, will conduct the signature high noon opening chapter read with the three famous words “Call Me Ishmael,” according to a press release from the museum.

“Melville wrote vividly of New Bedford and the maritime experience therein,” said New Bedford Whaling Museum CEO Amanda McMullen in the release. “The city was important to his work and life — his sister lived here and he frequented the downtown and waterfront streets, ultimately drawing inspiration from the area’s varied landmarks and culture. The Moby-Dick Marathon is an enduring testament to his legacy and to that era of whaling, and we encourage participants to join us for a weekend of Melville-inspired events as we recount the epic hunt for the white whale.”

Saturday activities to enjoy during the marathon

Saturday will hold a variety of activities beginning at 9:30 a.m. with Stump the Scholars where attendees can ask two teams of Melville Scholars all their burning questions about Melville's novels, art, poetry, and short stories. You will also have a chance to chat with them at 2:30 p.m. to hear more details about Melville.

Children can participate in a storytime, craft, and scavenger hunt at 10 a.m. led by the staff from the New Bedford Free Public Library. Prizes will be available upon completion.

Members of the Melville Society Cultural Project will be reading A Whaling Voyage Around the World at 11 a.m. in the Bourne Building.

Father Mapple’s Sermon at the Seamen’s Bethel will be live-streamed at 1:30 p.m. at the museum.

A Portuguese Mini-Marathon will take place at 1:30 p.m. when readers in mainland Portugal, the Azores, Madeira Islands, and Cape Verde Islands read the shortened adaptation of Moby-Dick created by Tiago Patricio in Portuguese.

At 3 p.m. you can take a break to create a personalized bookmark to help keep your place during the marathon.

Master printmaker Jos Sances will hold a demonstration from 3:45 to 5:45 p.m. of printing of the portrait of Melville he created especially for the Moby-Dick Marathon.

Cousin Hosea’s Chowder Hall and the Decanter Taproom will open at 6:30 p.m. to help you recharge and enjoy delicious soups and brews.

Wrap up the night with a live performance of Chapter 40 by Culture*Park will take place from 8 p.m. to midnight in Cook Memorial Theater.

The home stretch on Sunday afternoon

On Sunday you can fuel up at 8 a.m. with the 20th hour treat and at 9:30 chat with the Melville scholars.

At 10:30 a.m. there will be a live podcast recording with Unburied Books where they will discuss Jean Giono's Melville with Wyn Kelley and Timothy Marr of the Melville Society Cultural Project.  Originally published to promote his 1941 French translation of Moby-Dick, Giono's book – part biography, part fantasy, and part philosophical rumination – is an homage from one great writer to another.

The epilogue will be at 1 p.m. with prizes for the hearty souls who make it through the entire night and get to experience this beloved event.

For more information visit https://www.whalingmuseum.org/program/moby-dick-marathon-2024.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Moby-Dick Marathon to be held at the New Bedford Whaling Museum