30th Annual Moby-Dick Marathon

The Moby-Dick Marathon is back for the 30th year, honoring Herman Melville’s novel and New Bedford’s whaling history.

The mid-winter traditions open Friday, Jan. 2, with a Melville Scholars Dinner and Lecture, the only ticketed event. Conservation biologist Joe Roman delivers the keynote.

Free public programming begins Saturday morning with Stump the Scholars, followed by the start of the 25-hour read-a-thon at noon. Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson reads the opening line, “Call me Ishmael,” aboard the Lagoda.

Readings continue across multiple museum spaces, including the Seamen’s Bethel and Cook Memorial Theater, with overnight sessions and family-friendly activities. The marathon concludes Sunday around 1 p.m. with the epilogue.

Admission is free all day Saturday and until 1 p.m. Sunday. Pre-registration is encouraged.

Full details are available on the museum’s website.