Sep 252016
 

cameraSalem Ma gets a lot of verbal and printed love from residents, tourists and general all-around supporters. SATV, our community Public Access station has now announced a video contest, titled “How Much Do I Love Salem,” as a way for SATV members and producers to express their favorite aspects of the city.

Patrick Kennedy program director at SATV has put it succinctly: “Love the History? Make it a video. Love the Spookiness? Make it a video. Love the culture? Make it a video.”

He adds “Aside from expressing themselves, this contest gives SATV members and producers a chance to make a completely different type of video than they have made before. There will be prizes for first, second, third and fourth place, and all of the contest entries will air on SATV’s Public Access Channel 3.”

Salem Access Television exists due to an agreement between the cable provider and the communities it serves. Public access programming is community programming on cable TV.

It opens the door for individuals or organization to write, produce, direct, and perform in their own programs by providing the necessary training, equipment, and use of facilities free of charge. People not normally allowed easy access to the mass media employ it as a powerful resource for local expression.

  • Channel 3 features original, community produced and professionally produced programming from Salem and other surrounding communities.
  • Channel 15 features educational T.V. from the local to the global level.
  • Channel 22 features political and issue-based programming, as well as municipal meetings and local election coverage.

The “How Much Do I Love Salem,” contest runs until February of 2017 and will be the main focus of SATV’s 2017 Annual Meeting, which takes place in the middle of March.

Any Salem resident, member of a Salem organization or employee of a Salem business can join and learn how to use video equipment to make videos about their interests.

SATV offers this training free of charge. Throughout these class sessions, you can become a certified access user. Then you can use video equipment to make your own programs. The basic elements of TV production are covered: camera-operation, lighting, audio, directing, script writing, editing, etc.

The class includes a group project, which is an in-studio, 30 minute talk show format program which actually gets played on the air! Students who successfully complete the classes and participate in the group project become certified to use SATV equipment.

Again,the classes, channel time, and use of equipment are free. Sounds like a good deal!

For more information about the contest or SATV in general, you may contact through e-mail: info@satvonline.org. Or call SATV at: 978-740-9432.

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Aug 282016
 

Over 20,000 visitors served during the Haunted Happenings weekends and holidays in October! That’s the final head count for last year’s Information Booth Volunteers. What will it be this year? Join us and be a part of this rewarding community effort.

Salem Main Streets is looking for volunteers with enthusiasm for Salem to help greet visitors at the October Information Booth. Volunteers will staff the booth at the start of the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall handing out maps and sharing information about Salem’s wide variety of attractions, events, and businesses.

All volunteers are asked to be available for a minimum of two shifts for two hours each and will be required to complete a one hour orientation session. The orientation will take place on Saturday, September 10 at 9:30am at the National Park Service Regional Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty St, Salem. SIGN UP FOR ORIENTATION NOW!

Info Booth 1This is a great experience for new volunteers who not only will be updated on new October events, but will also interact with returning volunteers who in turn will share insights and information with those new to the program.

Volunteers are needed for:

  • Two hour shifts throughout the day each weekend in October
  • October 6 (Parade night)
  • October 10 (Columbus Day)
  • October 31 (Halloween Night)

We are also looking for multi-lingual volunteers to assist the many international visitors who come to Salem.

If you have availability some of these days, enjoy helping visitors by showing them your enthusiasm for our cultured and historic city, and want to make it fun and easy for visitors to explore all of Salem’s sites and attractions, please join us!

For more information or to become a volunteer please contact Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets’ Executive Director, at (978)744-0004 x15 or kylie@salemmainstreets.org. This program is a partnership between Salem Main Streets, the National Park Service, the City of Salem, Destination Salem, and the Salem Chamber of Commerce.

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Aug 232016
 

Sam invitesReflections are how we “see” ourselves. A mirror, a pool of water, the eyes of a loved one. But how does a city such as Salem see its reflection? In the comments of visitors.

To test this point, we found this favorable review of Salem, as seen through the eyes of an Australian traveler. (Thanks to a posting on Destination Salem’s Facebook page back in June).

Linda Bentley from Sydney, Australia is a well-known traveler/reviewer with her own website The Packed Bag and it was interesting to observe the things she wanted to see and did see. Was it the historical, the hysteria, or the hysterical items that called to her?

The blog was simply called USA – Massachusetts: Salem

Potential long stay and short term day trip visitors can look at her blog as a summation of things to do and see in Salem the year round.

But we can use it as a mirror to determine if we are communicating what we want to the outside world. What do you think? Did she share an engaging, inviting, diverse “message”  about Salem, MA?

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Jun 052016
 

Get ready to fill the cupboards, shelves and refrigerator with the best of the best of fresh, nutritious and diverse foods that local farmers can produce as the Salem Ma Farmers’ Market returns this Thursday, June 9th.

SFM  June 2016A who’s who of local farms will help kick off the 8th season in Derby Square, along with music and pop up booths from community organizations. (Vendors with a red asterisk* will be here every other week)

FARMS

Clark Farm In the Hobart/Clark family since 1728, Clark Farm is one of America’s Founding Farms. Out of Danvers. website | facebook

Gibney Gardens One of our many awesome farms. Out of Danvers.

Grant Family Farm Produces vegetables, cut flowers, and eggs. Out of Essex. website | facebook

Heavens Harvest Farm A 17 year and counting Organic Farm, certified by Baystate Organic Certifiers. Out of New Braintree. website | facebook

Long Hill Orchard Growing since 1896. Out of West Newbury. websitefacebook

Maitland Mountain Farm An Urban Small-Plot Farm (with pickles). Out of Salem. website | facebook

Wally’s Vegetables One of our many awesome farms. Out of Haverill.

SEAFOOD

A&J Lobsters Lobster. Out of Danvers.

Rowand’s Fisheries Serving the Northshore with fresh seafood since 1959. Out of Beverly. website | facebook

BREAD

When Pigs Fly Many kinds of bread. Out of York, ME.

PASTA

Valicenti Pasta Farm Fresh pasta, seasonal ravioli & farmstead sauces made with ingredients grown on the Farm and sourced in New England. Out of Hollis, NH. website | facebook

CHOWDERS

Fishwives (Mandy’s Wicked Chowdah) All Natural – Gluten Free Chowders & Bisques. Out of Marblehead. website | facebook

SAVORIES & SWEETS

Auntie Elsie Oatmeal Crisps* A modern take on the classic oatmeal cookies, a handcrafted premium crisp. Out of Belchertown. website | facebook

Grammy’s Bakery Baked goods (cheesecake, cupcakes, and a variety of cookies.) Out of Salem.

Honey Pot Maple Farm* A Massachusetts producer of Honey and Maple Syrup and Maple products. Out of Wilmington. website | facebook

Jodi Bee Bakes A vegetarian bakery & café that specializes in all-natural pastries and savory items, including several vegan and gluten-free selections. Out of Salem. website | facebook

La Creperie  Sweet and Savory Crêpes made to order. Out of Beverly. facebook

Powerhouse Juice An all natural juice bar offering cold pressed juice, smoothies. Out of Lowell. website | facebook

PREPARED FOODS

All Fruit Inc* Dried fruit and nut mixes. Out of Salem. website | facebook

Cauldron Fermented Foods Fermented foods: Black and White Sauerkraut, Firecracker Carrots, Dilly Green Beans. Out of Boston. websitefacebook

Milk and Honey Cheeses and meats. Out of Salem. website | facebook

TEAS, HERBS, SPICES

Salem Spice Spices and spice blends. Out of Salem. website | facebook

WINES & HARD CIDERS

1634 Meadery*  Honey-wines made from local ingredients and specialty meads from varietal honeys. Out of Ipswich. website | facebook

Far From The Tree Cider Making small batch craft hard cider. Out of Salem. website | facebook

Mill River Winery Wine. Out of Rowley. website | facebook

JEWELRY

Heritage Handmade Handcrafted Items made by artists with disabilities, Primarily Jewelry. Out of Peabody. website | facebook

BED, BATH & HOME PRODUCTS

Bare Cheek Beauty* Handcrafted natural skincare products. Out of Gloucester. website | facebook

Just Herbals* Herbal Teas (Locally grown), Fine Cider, Elderberry Syrup, Herbal Body Care Products, Medicinal Herb Starts. Out of Ipswich. websitefacebook

Salem Soapworks Handmade goat’s milk soaps, bath and body products. Out of Salem. website | facebook

SNAP/EBT CARD

And being on a tight budget is no excuse to not eat healthy if you want to. The Salem Farmers’ Market also accepts the SNAP/EBT card.

Just head over to the designated Farmers’ Market table (located off Front St, on the Lobster Shanty side). Ask for the Market Manager. Select how much you wish to spend using your SNAP/EBT card and he will give you tokens valued at $1, $2, or $5. Then shop using the tokens as cash. Certain restrictions apply. Information provided at the table.

The 2016 Edition of the Salem Ma Farmers’ Market is made possible by Salem Main Streets, City of Salem, Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Five, and Endless Energy.

Be there this Thursday from 3-7pm. Over 2000 people shopped last season at our Farmers’ Market. Join the crowd!

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May 082016
 

Ten years of down beats, up beats, rhythm and horns will be celebrated this year as the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival kicks off its Berklee Summer Series May 14th in Salem’s Derby Square.

The spacious, open air ambiance of Derby Square lends itself so well to the diverse live funk, soul, blues and jazz music performances scheduled this year.

By offering this series of annual free concerts, concluding with the main festival at the Willows (the third weekend in August), The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is “recreating and renewing the vibrant jazz scene that began in the early 20th century, when Duke Ellington and other musicians from the Big Band era played at the seaside park.”

May 14th Performers

MIXCLA, a trio consisting of students from the Berklee College of Music, will play at the first SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concert.

MIXCLA is a play on words between mezcla (which means mixture) and mix.

MIXLASJSF describes it in this way “It is a merging of cultures hailed from the mountains of Chile, to the traditions of Japan, which driven by the fires of Cuba achieve a truly unique Latin jazz experience.”

Sounds interesting.

MIXCLA is led by composer/pianist and singer Zahili Gonzalez Zamora, with Gerson Esteban Lazo Quiroga on bass and backing vocals, and Takafumi Nikaido on percussion. You would expect that this mixture of cultural spices to cook up the perfect recipe for one of a kind musical experience.

Zahili Gonzalez Zamora, explains, “We are truly excited to be a part of the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival Berklee Summer Series; it is another opportunity to share our love and passion for music.

We are three individuals from three different parts of the world, yet, we found each other at Berklee and came together as a musical family with one common thing in mind, we love Cuban music.

I am bias of course. But Gerson? All the way from Chile, he pretty much self taught himself music and ended up avidly listening and falling in love with Cuban music. He began transcribing his favorite bass players, especially Alain Perez, a bass virtuoso from Cuba. Then Taka? He has already been to Cuba twice, studied with the Masters of Percussion and actually won a prize in Cuba’s most important Festival Del Tambor.

When I found them, I said to myself, these are my brothers. I cannot let them go. I feel at home when we are playing, and their faces tell me they feel the same, and it gets better and better. So now, I’m just really happy that we get to share what we have with the crowd of the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival.

Plus, we get to represent our school, which is also an honor.”

Three more SJSF/Berklee Summer Series concerts will take place this year: Maddie Jay & the pH Collective on June 11; Selah Poitier on July 9; and RickExpress on Aug. 13.

The 10th-annual Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will follow at The Willows during the weekend of Aug. 20-21, featuring 10 bands, a kids’ tent, music-education tent, artisan fair and 21-plus beer pavilion. The two-day concert is free.

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

For up-to-date information, check out the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival Facebook page.

 

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