Soul, Blues and Funk Mix at Salem Jazz & Soul Festival’s 10th Year

 History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Volunteer Opportunities  No Responses »
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.

 

Be Clean, Be Green, Be a Part of the Salem Clean Sweeps Team

 Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Volunteer Opportunities  No Responses »
May 072016
 

Cleaning up outside your home and inside your home in Salem is on the calendar for Saturday May 7th!

The 5th annual Swap ‘N’ Drop will take place from 10am – 1pm on the Salem Common. Weather calls for partly cloudy skies. (If it rains, then only the drop off portion will be conducted). This is a great way to part with “stuff” you just couldn’t throw away. And, at the same time, find at no cost to you new “stuff” that you can use!

SWAP or simply DROP OFF:Salem Swap

  • Women’s, men’s, children’s clothing & accessories
  • Small household items in working condition
  • Reusable Bags (new this year) – Have too many cloth shopping bags? or not enough? Visit the Bag Swap area and bring home a bag to use all year ’round!
  • You can recycle plastic grocery bags
  • Textiles may be in any condition as long as clean and dry— and absolutely no computers or TVs.

Items not swapped will be picked up by Recycle That.

Everyone is welcome, whether you live in Salem or not.

For additional details, contact Julie Rose at jrose@salem.com or 978-619-5679.

But that’s not all.

Earlier in the morning and going on at the same time, Salem’s Beautification Committee will be holding its annual Clean Sweeps Day on Saturday. From 8:30am to 11:30am volunteers will be collecting trash and doing other work at Lafayette Park. Participants are asked to check in with team leaders at the start of the day.

Neighborhood clean-ups will be at:

  • Bridge Street (between Flint & North Streets)
  • Canal Street from Mill Hill to St. Paul Street (meet at Lafayette Park)
  • Collins Cove Beach & Bike Path (Webb Street)
  • Collins Middle School (Broad Street playground & Congress Street)
  • Dead Horse Beach (Memorial Drive)
  • Jackson Street (parking lot)
  • Lafayette Park and along Lafayette Street
  • Larkin Lane
  • Old Salem Jail (comer of Bridge & St. Peter Streets)
  • Patton Park (corner of School & Buffum Streets)
  • Salem Bike Path (between SSU campuses)
  • Swiniuch Park (Derby Street)
  • Winter Street traffic island

Groups and associations who helped to organize this year’s Clean Sweeps volunteers include:

Bridge Street Neck Neighborhood Association, Collins Middle School students, Federal Street Neighborhood Association, Historic Derby Street Neighborhood Association, Keep Salem Clean, Mack Park Neighborhood Association, Point Neighborhood Association, Salem Beautification Committee, Salem Common Neighborhood Association, Salem Sound Coastwatch, and Salem State University

All volunteers are invited to the Salem Common for a pizza party at noon. For more information, contact Ellen Talkowsky at 978-619-5676 or etalkowsky@salem.com

Be part of the team that keeps Salem clean!

Who’s Ready for Halloween? Haunted Happenings Guide Deadline Moved Up

 Salem Event, Salem Festivals  No Responses »
May 052016
 

Haunted HappeningsWhile the calendar says it is only May and summer is not far away, for many businesses in our Downtown District it signals that Halloween in the form of Haunted Happenings is less than six months away! Believe it or not, phone calls are beginning to come in to hotels and attractions seeking information.

In response, D2015_Coverestination Salem has wisely decided to move their deadline for the Salem Haunted Happenings Guide WAY UP this year. The deadline for submissions is THIS FRIDAY!

If you operate a business in Salem that participates in the Haunted Happenings extravaganza and are planning an October event or want to advertise to these inquiring visitors, do not miss out!!!

To find out more about Destination Salem’s integrated Haunted Happenings print and digital marketing campaign go to their website. Questions? Call 978-741-3252. Fax 978-741-7539. Email scooper@salem.org

 

Poetry in Motion Being Showcased in Salem

 Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping  No Responses »
Apr 292016
 

MPF16+BannerWe understand, you worked on Friday and missed the first day of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. But fear not, ’tis more than one day in length. It will be shared among attendees on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend!

Here are a couple of links you might want to keep handy when you arrive. There is a lot going on, so be prepared to make some choices.

Not only are there many, many speakers. But they are also quite a diverse group.

Another interesting twist on a poetry festival is The Small Press and Literary Fair which takes place outside of the Peabody Essex Museum on Saturday. You will most likely find materials from literary journals, library organizations, university libraries and academic programs. Venues

And just where does this grand festival take place in Salem? Perhaps ask where it is not. Seriously…

  • Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St.
  • Salem Five Community Room, 210 Essex St.
  • Hawthorne Hotel, 18 Washington Square, W.
  • Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square
  • New Liberty Charter School, Museum Place Mall, 1 E. India Square Mall
  • The Bridge at 211, 211 Bridge St.
  • Howling Wolf, 76 Lafayette St.

For a larger version of map go to  www.masspoetry.org/venues-2016.

According to the Festival website “We encourage those who have the means, to add a donation to their button purchase to help us continue to offer the festival experience at a low price.”

It is a worthy cause.

Roger Housden, author and public speaker, has said in an edition of the Huffington Post “Poetry at its best calls forth our deep being. It dares us to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind; it calls to us, like the wild geese, as Mary Oliver would say, from an open sky. It is a magical art, and always has been — a making of language spells designed to open our eyes, open our doors and welcome us into a bigger world, one of possibilities we may never have dared to dream of.”

But this weekend you may dare dream and experience. Visit Salem and you will hear and see poetry come alive at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival.

Business of Doing Business in Salem Spotlighted

 Contests, History, Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Shopping  No Responses »
Apr 282016
 

The beautiful Atrium of the Peabody Essex Museum was the perfect setting for a night of chatting, dining, praising and even a bit of networking this Wednesday in Salem, MA as the 94th Annual Celebrate Salem Awards event took place.

Salem Awards Party Night

Thirty-six nominees! Six award categories. Businesses. Organizations. Individuals. And winners were decided upon by a very special jury —- you and your peers in the community.

What say you?

  • Businesswoman of the Year – Joanne Scott, Boys and Girls Club
  • Businessman of the Year – Rob Liani, Coffee Time Bake Shop
  • New Business – Sea Level Oyster Bar
  • Excellence in Retail – The Cheese Shop of Salem
  • Community Service – Plummer Home
  • Long-Term Achievement – National Park Service/Salem Maritime Historical Site

Congratulations to the winners, the nominees, and to the Salem Chamber of Commerce for continuing this tradition of letting our community “speak” about good business practices and appreciated customer service procedures by voting for the best of the best.

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