We can write all day about how great our Salem Farmers’ Market is. We can talk about the vendors, and all the various produce and products, especially as we’re starting to enter peak produce season. We can talk about how much we know YOU love us, because you voted us the BONS Readers’ Choice this year! But, our friend John Andrews at Creative Salem made a video on Vimeo earlier in the season, and e think it’s worth a second look as an even better way to give potential first-time attendees a solid foundation as to the fun, food, and friends that can be made.
Salem Farmers’ Market operates every Thursday through Oct. 13th from 3-7 pm in Derby Square on Front Street.
Here are just a few things to look forward to in the upcoming weeks:
Starting this week, City Hall To Go will be at the market every week. Pay your parking tickets AND get your kale in the same place!
Mayor Kim Driscoll will be meeting us on Aug. 25 for a “Meet the Mayor” event.
Each week in September, we will have a market scavenger hunt for kids – well, or really anyone who wants to!
Plus we’ve got a few ideas up our sleeves for late September in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget about all the great vendors!
As Salem Heritage Days winds down to its closing events, it does not slow down. This weekend, Saturday, August 13 & Sunday, August 14 from 10am – 6pm you will find the Essex Street Fair along the Pedestrian Mall. Rain or shine. The bargains will be on display!
This two-day festival is where over 40 artisans, craftors, and food vendors from in and around Salem join local merchants to sell their merchandise.
Fun for all ages, this street festival has something for everyone. Crafts, jewelry, paintings, stained glass, and other unique items will be featured along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall all weekend long.
For more information, contact the Salem Chamber of Commerce at info@salem-chamber.org.
Short of going to a Museum of Ice Cream, the next best thing is going to the Salem Main Streets Ice Scream Bowl this Tuesday from 6-7:30pm where, for a small fee, you will sample a variety of ice cream from multiple local vendors. As in past years, the event will take place on the Salem Common.
This Heritage Days Festival favorite gives “kids of all ages” a chance to taste some classic flavors as well as some exciting new combinations from the area’s premier ice cream shops.
A few of the businesses serving samples at the event include Captain Dusty’s, Cherry Farm Creamery, Maria’s Sweet Somethings, and Melt Ice Cream.
Kylie Sullivan, SMS Executive Director says, “North Shore 104.9 will also be in attendance with fun games and takeaways. New this year, we will be featuring a ‘community fair’ of sorts, where a number of kid-focused community groups and organizations (such as Salem Youth Soccer, Girl Scouts, Mass in Motion, and the SPUR Backpack Drive) will be present.”
The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for children. Tickets for the Ice Scream Bowl are purchased on site at the event. A spoon and napkins will be supplied with the purchase of a ticket.
Proceeds go to Salem Main Streets; we are a nonprofit organization with the goal of revitalizing downtown Salem as a vibrant year-round retail, dining, and cultural destination. Salem Main Streets organizes the Salem Farmers’ Market, Salem Arts Festival, and many other events in downtown Salem.
The Ice Scream Bowl is coordinated in partnership between Salem Main Streets and the City of Salem as part of Salem Heritage Days, a 10 day event to celebrate the people of Salem.
For any other questions or comments regarding this event, please contact Kylie Sullivan at Salem Main Streets, (978) 744-0004 x15 or email at kylie@salemmainstreets.org.
Kylie adds, “Salem’s Ice Scream Bowl is a fun event for both children and adults to cool down from the heat and enjoy tasty ice cream. Current weather forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 82 degrees. Ice cream sure sounds like a good idea!”
Ships, sawdust, sailors and song all in Salem this weekend as the National Park Service celebrates the 28th year of the Salem Maritime Festival.
The Salem Maritime Festival will run August 5th, 6th and 7th, featuring live music, historical reenactors, harbor cruises, demonstrations, interactive programs, arts, crafts, and more! The Salem Maritime Festival is hosted by Salem Maritime National Historic Site in cooperation with the Essex National Heritage Commission.
But, take note, this is not your typical ocean-themed event with one or two seafaring craft docked in the harbor for walk-aboard tours. Visiting & Participating Vessels include:
Lobster Boats
Schooner Adventure
Schooner Ardelle
Sea Shuttle’s Endeavour
Schooner Fame, Full-scale replica of a War of 1812 Privateer
Sloop Friendship
United States Coast Guard Patrol Boat
Not surprising then that one of the most popular features of the Salem Maritime Festival will be the free 90-minute boat rides around Salem Harbor. In fact, on Saturday, festival goers will be given the opportunity to enter a series of raffles for chances to set sail in Salem harbor on some of the above-mentioned craft. Lottery entries begin 10:30am
Music is also a big part of this festival.
Friday, August 5th:
6-8pm, Squeezebox Stompers – Cajun/Zydeco
Saturday, August 6th (MC Merrill Kohlhofer):
10am, Wolf Music – Sea Chantey
11am, Ye Mariners All
12pm, Warszawiaki Orchestra – Polka Music
2pm, Campbell Music – Folk
3pm, New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus
4pm, Mamadou –West African World-Fusion
6-7pm, Salem Philharmonic Orchestra
Sunday, August 7th (MC Tony Toledo):
11am, Wolf Music – Sea Chantey
12pm, Ron Reid Music – Steel Drum/Caribbean
1pm,Tony Toledo (MC) – Story Telling
2pm, Marina Evans – Folk
3-5pm, Atwater-Donnelly – Folk
And beyond this being a 3-day festival, beyond this being part of the Salem Heritage Days festival, it is also in honor of the National Park Service’s Centennial year.
On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established.
“The Centennial will celebrate the achievements of the past 100 years, but it is really about the future. It’s about kicking off a second century of stewardship for America’s national parks and for communities across the nation. Most importantly, it’s about inviting you to join us.” — NPS
History. Adventure. Fun and games. And a lot more await you Aug. 5-7 in Salem Ma. Bring sunglasses. Bring your boat shoes. For full schedule of events, go to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site website.
More than 40 different events over 10 days — if that doesn’t convince you to put Salem’s Heritage Days festival on your “to do” list for summer events, we don’t know what will. As we have already given the Festival a full write up, let’s consider this a gentle reminder! It takes place Aug.4-14th at Derby Wharf, Salem Common and other locales around Salem, inviting residents and visitors to explore Salem’s past and present through music, food and events.
While most of the schedule is set, there are always possible changes, so just another reminder to check the schedule before attending.
Look it over. As the saying goes, there is something for everyone, no matter what your age.
Salem Main Streets' mission is the continued revitalization of downtown Salem as a vibrant, year-round, retail, dining and cultural destination through business retention, recruitment, and promotion of the downtown district.
We can write all day about how great our Salem Farmers’ Market is. We can talk about the vendors, and all the various produce and products, especially as we’re starting to enter peak produce season. We can talk about how much we know YOU love us, because you voted us the BONS Readers’ Choice this year! But, our friend John Andrews at Creative Salem made a video on Vimeo earlier in the season, and e think it’s worth a second look as an even better way to give potential first-time attendees a solid foundation as to the fun, food, and friends that can be made.
