Salem Main Streets

Harvest time is almost here, June 13 to October 24.  For you. Get ready to reap the benefits of living within an active Farmers’ Market community in Salem Ma. where producers sell their locally grown and produced items direct to you. No middle person.

Let your senses be your guide. You can see, touch, and smell all the fruits and vegetables. Soon enough you will hear the sounds of delight from your family as they taste what you bring home from the Salem Farmers’ Market.

This year along with the returning favorite vendors, there will be a crop of new ones. And that means more adventures as you take advantage of the opportunity to interact with them.

“Our goal is to promote regional agriculture while enhancing the quality of life in the downtown Salem area by providing a community activity that fosters social gathering and interaction,” states Matt Caruso, acting manager of Salem Main Streets, the organization which sponsors the Farmers’ Market in the open-air Derby Square.

For a full list of vendors and links to their contact sites, go to www.salemfarmersmarket.org/vendors or www.facebook.com/SalemMAFarmersMarket.

…And I hope you like jammin’ too. The Bob Marley Ensemble will share their music and message Saturday, May 11th as part of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival/Berklee College of Music Summer Series. Performance time has been reset to 5:30-7:30pm in Derby Square. It is sponsored by Lobster Shanty and expect to find a lot of good music and good feelings (and this is Salem, so there will be much good food to be had within walking distance).

Matt Jenson, assistant professor of piano at the Berklee College of Music in Boston initially designed a class called “The Music and Life of Bob Marley” which presents an in-depth study of Marley’s life, maintaining respect for the soulfulness of his music and for his message of love and resistance to oppression.

This one semester class consists of 15 auditioned singers and instrumentalists who come from around the world. In a lecture-demonstration format, Jenson takes the students on a biographical tour of Marley’s fascinating life, and then rigorously coaches the ensemble as they prepare for performances.

Such as the one they will offer Salem. For more info go to www.salemjazzsoul.com

DrumFest & ZumbaFest

But that’s not the only music in Salem on Saturday. Not one, but two kickoff fundraisers will play out for Salem Culture Fest.

Presented by A3D (African Development through Drum & Dance), a Drum Fest will fill the air at from 10-11am at St. Peter’s Church. It is a drum circle event led by Mamadou Diop, president of A3D and leader of the award winning band “Mamadou.”  For a $10 donation you can join in, bring a drum (some will be available).

Doors to the ZumbaFest will open at 12:30pm, with dance sessions running from 1:30-3pm. Fee to participate is $20. There will be vendors, refreshments, activities and raffles for participants before & afterward until 4pm.

These funds will go towards mounting the annual Salem CultureFest, set this year for July 20 & 21. All funds raised there will be used to support the organization’s ongoing projects of educational development in Senegal, distribution of medical supplies to West Africa, and a donation to a local charitable organization.

For more info, go to www.a3dinc.org

Leave it to the creative minds at Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum to unearth a really ground breaking topic for their next PEM/PM party event: DIRT!

Or more accurately, things you can do with what grows out of well-tended dirt.

On May 16 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, you will be able to sip specialty cocktails made with fresh basil and thyme and dig right into this fabulous party that celebrates growing gardens and eating local.

The event is part of the 3rd Thursday of every month series that PEM established in 2011. Facilities stay open until 9:30pm to accommodate the varied activities. Last month the event showcased the Nick Cave experience. Over 800 people attended.

In the midst of this night’s party atmosphere, new ways to use seasonal and locally grown food will be presented. Members of both Salem Community Gardens and Salem Farmers’ Market will be on hand to share tips for gardening and local, healthy eating.

Meanwhile, environmental artist Kyle Browne demonstrates how to create a seedbomb, a little ball made of compost, clay and seeds that can be launched into inaccessible areas such as wasteland or railways.

Want to make a work of art at PEM? Since sketching is becoming a popular pastime. PEM encourages you to grab a sketchpad to draw a costumed, live model from Modern Millie Vintage and Consignments of Salem and Newburyport.

Word is that Modern Millie is providing a styled model and this one will be appropriate to the theme DIRT.

And music will be provided by the rootsy sound of Dan & The Wildfire. These Boston-based boys from Berklee College of Music are cultivating crowds as they perform up and down the East Coast.

PEM/PM is an fun opportunity for people to explore the galleries after dark and a way to engage the community in art-making, music and stimulating conversation.

Admission is free to Salem residents (with ID), $10 for non-members. There will be a cash bar. For more info call 866-745-1876.