History – Page 7 – Salem Main Streets

Free Admission Today to Witch Museum During Museum Day Live!

Sep 242016

Not a Halloween trick, but an early treat, courtesy of Smithsonian magazine, you & a guest are cordially invited to visit the Salem Witch Museum today, (9/24/16) free of charge!

Museum Day Live! is an annual celebration of boundless curiosity hosted by Smithsonian magazine. Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket.

These special tickets must be ordered on line.

Interestingly and to show how Salem blends the historical with the modern, the Salem Witch Museum will accept your Museum Day Live! ticket directly from the screen of your smartphone!

Is it witchcraft or science? Curious.

The Salem Witch Museum is located at 19 1/2 Washington Sq. North, Salem MA and will be open today from 10am-5pm. For more info call 978-744-1692.

Take a Sip of History on New Salem Spirits Trolley

History, Salem Dining, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Sep 072016

The booming craft maker scene in Salem is getting its own tour! Salem Spirits Trolley launches a new excursion focusing on locally made cider, spirits, and beer beginning Friday, Sept. 9th.

“We are thrilled to offer this fantastic new tour to both locals and visitors,” says Salem Spirits Trolley founder and owner Karen Scalia. “Salem’s renowned and award-winning food scene now has a great companion with its outstanding craft beer, cider and spirits scene.”

The tour will include stops at Far From the Tree Cider, Deacon Giles Distillery and Notch Brewing.

Hosted by emcee comedian Mark Scalia, the Salem Spirits Trolley offers an entertaining and unique look at Salem, from the waterfront to the historic McIntire District. The 3-hour tour includes a special spice tasting, which showcases what spices are used in the making and distillation or brewing process, followed by tastings at each tour location.

Transported by the Salem Trolley, guests have the opportunity to talk with the local crafters about their process and passion, and get a behind-the-scenes perspective on the distilling and brewing process, as well as its relevance to the story of Salem.

Like Scalia’s Salem Food Tours, the experience is not just about the local samples, but about the connections between the spirits, the spice trade, and Salem’s history.

Additional tour partners include Salem Spice and the Cheese Shop of Salem, sharing more of Salem’s rich retail and culinary scene with participants.

The concept came to Scalia, who founded Salem Food Tours in 2010, after two of the local makers, Far From the Tree Cider and Deacon Giles Distillery, impressed her with their extraordinary products and special locations.

“Like our terrific Salem chefs, I wanted to shine a light on what they were doing,” says Scalia, “Since the locations of the tasting room and distillery were not in close proximity, the concept of a trolley tour was born. The addition of Notch Brewing to downtown Salem rounded out a fantastic experience.”

The Salem Spirits Trolley will offer regularly scheduled public tours beginning Friday, Sept. 9th, and private tours are available for groups. All ticket-holders must be 21+ and must sign a waiver before embarking on the tour. For more information, visit salemspiritstrolley.com.

Interactive Theatre Tasks You with Judging Woman’s Innocence or Guilt as a Witch

History, Salem Event No Responses »

Sep 032016

A word misspoken. A deed misunderstood. Common enough occurrences in today’s society where social media could quickly shed the light of truth on the situation. But there was a time when the only social media was word of mouth and when hearsay was taken as gospel. So stands the story of Bridget Bishop as presented in the interactive play Cry Innocent which begins its September season in Salem Ma today.

“The year is 1692. Bridget Bishop has been accused of witchcraft and YOU are on the Puritan jury. Hear the historical testimonies, cross-examine the witnesses and decide the verdict. Is Bridget Bishop capable of witchcraft? Play your part in history… ”

This traditional “must-see” performance is unique as it begins outside on our Essex Street Pedestrian walkway and then whisks you into the “courthouse” (our Old Town Hall). But not before you see costumed performers walking about, among you, for several minutes. Then conversations begin. Voices become louder. Proclamations! Exclamations!! Accusations!!!

Witchcraft is afoot in Salem and witnesses have seen Bridget Bishop doing and saying suspicious things. She dresses differently. She holds herself up differently. Is she “different?”

Purchase admission to the trial and you sit on the jury listening to testimony and for those brave enough, you can actually ask questions of witnesses and officers of the court. Then you decide, is Bridget Bishop guilty of being a practitioner of the dark arts?

No spoiler here, sometimes she is set free. Sometimes she is not. How say you? See the performance and judge for yourself. Did she commit a crime against society or was she a victim of a criminal abuse of community gossip?

Cry Innocent is a presentation of History Alive, Inc. which is committed to the “production of new plays and theatrical scenarios based on true stories from the past. Emphasis is given to interactive theatre so that actors and audience together, through a playful and dynamic way of engaging with history, might broaden their understanding of the present and gain a fresh sense of purpose within their own era.”

Performances are held weekends in September and October 1st – 31st. Approximate duration of the trial reenactment is 45 minutes.

Ask at the History Alive, Inc. box office cart, located in Derby Square, for directions to the location of Bridget Bishop’s arrest.

For more details on showtimes and ticket prices, check out the Cry Innocent website http://cryinnocentsalem.com/

For more information on History Alive, Inc. please email: historyaliveinc@gmail.com

You Can’t Beat the Beat; Salem Jazz & Soul Festival This Weekend

History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals No Responses »

Aug 202016

Diversity of entertainment is what you will find this weekend in Salem Ma. Summer may be ending, but we won’t let it go quietly. No, not “quietly.” The air will be filled and flowing with music. There also will be A LOT to see as the 10^th Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is set for today & Sunday, from 11am to 7pm.

Rain or shine, the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival has delivered and will deliver again funk, soul and jazz — live & free of charge to overflow crowds of Salem residents & visitors at our Salem Willows, an area uniquely qualified to be hosting the event, as you will learn during this great SJSF Public Service Announcement produced by Salem Access TV.

Saturday, August 20th

Salem High School Jazz Band
What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?
Austin Torpedoes
BT/ALC BIG BAND
The Nth Power

Sunday, August 21st

North Shore Jazz Project All Stars
Edmar Colon
Jen Kearney
Tim Gearan
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers

Interested? The full descriptions of these performers are so extensive and so diverse, that they require a page onto themselves.

From beginners to veterans and musical stylists in between, there will be something musically happening throughout these two days of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival to keep you moving.

The SJSF is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization that produces free concerts and raises money for music education causes on the North Shore.

Summer Heats Up in Salem with Cool Heritage Events

History, Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping 3 Responses »

Jul 262016

Granted, Salem Ma is known for all things Halloween in the fall, but we are also known for putting on a pretty good summer bash in August with our Heritage Days Festival. This year it runs from Aug. 4-14th.

What makes it such a big deal along the North Shore?

Packed with more than 40 different events over ten days, the 2016 Heritage Days schedule uniquely offers opportunities for Salem residents to visit many downtown museums and attractions free of charge, as well as discounts on the Salem Ferry and tours to the Bakers Island Lighthouse.

That’s a business community at work.

Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll agrees, “I want to thank all of the organizations involved in putting together all of these events. Our community is extremely fortunate to have so many dedicated groups helping to ensure the continuance of Salem’s vibrant and fun annual Heritage Days celebration.”

Heritage Days kicks off this year at Derby Wharf with a concert by the SqueezeBox Stompers to mark the beginning of Salem’s Maritime Festival. The National Park Service is expanding the Maritime Festival to span over three days this year, filled with entertainment, special programs, children’s activities, demonstrations, harbor cruises, and tours of visiting vessels.

The regular Heritage Days schedule also includes all the regular favorites, as well: Tour-A-Truck, Salem’s Best Pizza Contest, the Salem Community Concert Band, the Ice Scream Bowl (one of our favorites) , Kids Night on the Common, the Essex Street Fair, and the 14th Annual Phillips House Antique Car Meet among others.

And of course what would Heritage Days be without the return of the highly popular Witches Cup Bike Race around Salem Common?

But that’s not all folks!

There are seven new events added to the schedule this year. They include free performances by traditional English Morris dancers, a performance of the musical “Godspell,” and Salsa on the South River. The first Salem City Hall Open House takes place on August 4. Also new is the first annual Splash & Dash competition for youngsters and, for seniors, a Charlie Card and Sheriff’s Photo ID program along with the GO4LIFE event and a lecture by Jim McAllister.

You can go to the shore or the Islands or the Cape anytime. But you can only enjoy the fun, food and friends of the Heritage Days Festival in Salem Ma from Aug. 4-14th. Mark your calendar. Set aside some sun tan and a hat. And, oh yes, bring comfortable walking shoes.

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