arts – Page 4 – Salem Main Streets

Be Entertained, Educated and Enthralled at Salem Film Fest

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

Mar 032017

Did you notice a larger than usual crowd walking about Salem this evening? It will get even bigger as the 10th annual Salem Film Fest gets underway.

Regarded and highly respected as one of New England’s largest documentary film festivals, it presents a rich and diverse collection of the year’s best work from all over the world.

Film screenings take place March 3-9 at CinemaSalem, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), and the National Park Service Visitor Center. The schedule and full breadth of the week-long events can be viewed at salemfilmfest.com. Attendance at this year’s screening is easily expected to surpass last year’s record setting 6,000+ viewers.

Salem Film Fest concentrates on well-told stories with strong technical elements and interesting visual approaches, letting narratives unfold that wind their way through the human experience in the USA and foreign lands. Many of the films represent a US, East Coast or regional premiere. Filmmakers are expected to be present for more than half of the screenings, giving audiences a unique advantage to learn about the documentary process.

SFF 2017 offers a diverse schedule of feature length and short documentaries, parties, discussions, meet-and-greets, family-friendly screenings, student film showcases, and opportunities to meet visiting filmmakers in intimate settings.

Each film provides an opportunity to immerse oneself in the encounters of others in a dramatic and sensory way, embarking upon what is different and recognizing what is common to us all. “The world is an amazing place,” is an oft worn but timely phrase. Salem Film Fest affirms that travel quote for your eyes and ears to behold. And some films may strike that ‘responsive chord’ that can change your life forever.

Again, go to film titles and times for full list of options to see.

Salem Film Fest was founded in 2008 by filmmaker Joe Cultrera (HAND OF GOD), local businessman Paul Van Ness (CinemaSalem, Van Ness Creative), Executive Director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce Rinus Oosthoek and others from the community. Run and operated entirely by volunteers, the week-long festival has become a community-wide event with screenings at CinemaSalem, the Peabody Essex Museum and the National Park Service Salem Visitor Center with filmmaker parties and music events held at venues throughout downtown. Fueled by great films, dedicated volunteers and enthusiastic audiences, festival attendance has grown 15 to 25 percent each year.

Accept our invitation to see the world up close and personal.

Two Market, Two Market, Salem This Weekend

Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Dec 152016

Not one, but two winter holiday markets take place this weekend in Salem and they are easily within walking distance of each other so you can see it all and bring home the best in crafts and foods.

Salem Winter Market

Salem Main Streets is pleased to announce the return of the Salem Winter Market!! A seasonal extension of the Salem Farmers’ Market, this year’s final Salem Winter Market will take place Saturday, December 17th, from 1-5 pm inside the Museum Place Mall (1 Church Street).

“The Winter Market is a fantastic opportunity to support local farms and artisans through the holiday season, and is a chance to find some truly unique holiday gifts,” states Kylie Sullivan, executive director of Salem Main Streets and organizer of the market.

“We’re also very excited to showcase our vendors in the Museum Place Mall this year, where we can complement and highlight the variety of great year-round tenants in the mall.”

A diversity of local vendors will be present at the Salem Winter Market this season. Patrons can expect to find an assortment of foods and artisan crafts including locally-caught lobster, dried fruit and nuts, chowder, baked goods (including vegan and dairy-free options), wreaths, handmade soaps, spices, honey, pickles, gourmet ravioli, almond butter, eggs, jewelry, and various produce.

In addition, both Santa and The Grinch will be stopping by throughout this Saturday’s event to spread cheer and grumpiness (respectively).

The Salem Farmers’ Market and Winter Market are organized by Salem Main Streets, thanks to the support of the City of Salem and Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, Destination Salem, and many other local business sponsors and community volunteers. For further information regarding current vendors and Winter Market updates, refer to the Market’s website, Facebook, and Twitter pages, or contact Kylie Sullivan directly.

Salem Holiday Market

But that’s not all folks. You say you want more? Look no farther than across the road to Old Town Hall. Where you will discover this weekend The Salem Holiday Market! This has become a much-anticipated annual indie craft show, featuring over 90 of the best local and regional designers and artists from all over New England.

The Salem Holiday Market will be presented by New England Open Markets, from noon-6pm on Saturday and Sunday, December 17th and 18th.

For a look at the vendors’ list and pictures of their wares, check out their website.

Kylie adds, “We were so thrilled with the success of our November market where we saw over 1,600 visitors! Between the diversity of market vendors and the mall tenants, this December’s market will most definitely have something for everyone on your list.”

Then mix in the Salem Holiday Market and no matter the weather this weekend, you have a real good chance at a very rewarding walk or drive to Salem. You definitely will come away with your hands full of good bargains, good food, and good gifts!

“Goodnight, Captain White” Needs You to Solve Mystery

History, Salem Event No Responses »

Nov 102016

Interactive theatre is the calling card of History Alive, Inc. productions, most notably Cry Innocent which you may have seen during Halloween in Salem, but also with a relatively newer production called Goodnight, Captain White. This comedy murder mystery will have its final performances of the winter season Nov. 18-20 at the historical Hawthorne Hotel.

It’s 1830. “All friends and well wishers are invited to attend” the retirement party of Captain Joseph White’s favorite ship, the Caroline. But this magnanimous invitation lures a host of enemies and ill-wishers into the perfect opportunity to murder the rich, old captain. Allegiances twist and turn. Foibles are exposed, depravities revealed.

Then it is up to the audience (that means YOU) and an under cover Daniel Webster to figure out who-dunnit and how. The creators of Cry Innocent give Salem— as odd as this sounds, but you have to be there— a crime to laugh about.

Those who love Salem history and also a good laugh will have this one more weekend to take in Goodnight, Captain White before History Alive, Inc. puts the play to bed for a long winter’s nap.

That’s correct. We said history. This tale is based upon the real-life murder of Capt. Joseph White, a 19th century shipmaster and trader from Salem, MA,

Performances of the interactive who-dunit will be in the library of the historic Hawthorne Hotel, November 18^th, 19^th and 20^th . Shows are at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday and 5:30pm on Sunday.

“We’ve had so much fun with a great, sold-out run this year, including a fund raiser for the Saltonstall School’s play ground and an immersive weekend at the gorgeous Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead,” Kristina Wacome Stevick, History Alive, Inc’s artistic director reflected. “But we’re developing a new piece, a world premier, and we want to turn our attention there for the winter.”

But what would hibernation be without a big meal beforehand? Therefore, from this late November run, $10 from each ticket will be donated to the Salem Pantry, which serves Salem’s children who struggle with food insecurity.

The November shows of Goodnight, Captain White will also feature a new performer in the ensemble, improv. comedian Zach Reynolds from Portsmouth, NH.

“Preparing for Captain White has been a high-energy, collaborative process,” he explains. “The whole cast is hilarious, and with Sarah Mann’s direction we’ve been able to make the ingenious script come to life in surprising and side-splitting ways. I’ve loved getting to know my character, Frank, and discovering how such an apparently dimwitted guy can have a duplicitous, conniving dark side.”

The play will resurface once in late June as part of Cry Innocent’s 25^th anniversary celebration, a festival which will highlight the spin-off projects and new work forged by Cry Innocent ensemble members past and present. It will then travel to Edinburgh, Scotland and the South Shore where there are additional historical connections to the story.

Tickets for the shows of Goodnight, Captain White, by Mark Stevick can be purchased at goodnightcaptainwhitehh.bpt.me.

Hark! We Hear Haunted Harmonies This Weekend

Contests, Salem Event, Salem Festivals No Responses »

Oct 062016

Part performance, part competition, part learning experience and a whole lot of musical entertainment, this Saturday, Salem residents and visitors will be treated to the first annual Haunted Harmonies A Cappella Festival.

Haunted Harmonies is a NEW one-day a cappella festival in Salem, MA built to educate high school and collegiate students on various elements of contemporary a cappella (group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment) and enhance Salem’s Haunted Happenings celebration.

Through workshops and exposure to professional musicians, students will gain skills to improve their musicality and knowledge of a cappella. Students will also provide family-friendly entertainment to the community while experiencing high-level performance opportunities in competition and exhibition on the streets of Salem during the Haunted Harmonies festival and throughout the month of October.

Inspired by the growing enthusiasm for a cappella performance, Haunted Harmonies was created by Alex Grover, Music Director of Danvers High School & former director of Salem High School’s a cappella group WitchPitch?, and Tina Jordan, Director of the Salem Witch Museum.

Jordan explains, “The audience is in for a wonderful musical experience. Whether watching the competition at the Fountain Stage, hearing the Scholastic and Non-Scholastic groups perform at the four other stages on Essex Street, or attending the Professional Showcase in the acoustically amazing Murray Hall at the Bridge at 211 featuring Vox One, the award-winning a cappella jazz quintet that combines elements of blues, funk, gospel, and folk into their own brand of vocal music, the audience will have an opportunity to participate in something special.”

The Scholastic Competition will include:

S#arp Attitude from UMass Amherst,
Fermata Nowhere from UMass Lowell,
Unisons from Northeastern University,
Tonal Recall from Colleges of the Fenway,
4Gotten Suitcase from Ramapo College,
Upper Structure from Berklee College of Music,
the ArgoNotes from Maspeth High School, and
Acapocalypse from Emmanuel College in Boston,
Saugus Sachimes from Saugus High School, and
Ingrid Sound from Danvers High School.

The competition will be opened and hosted by Phoenix, a Boston-based, all female a cappella group.

Jordan continues, “What I love about the design of the festival is that the groups will learn from experts in the a cappella world, Phoenix A Cappella and Berklee College of Music & Women’s A Cappella Association, and will be able to take those lessons and apply them as they perform on the streets of Salem with a Haunted Happenings twist!

Because this festival happens so early in the school year, I think it will also help the individual a cappella groups become more connected, as some have incoming freshmen as new members of their groups and this experience will help them build their relationship with each other.”

The Scholastic Competition will be held on the Fountain Stage on Essex Street from 10am – 12pm and is free to the public. Each of the ten groups will perform and be adjudicated by a panel of professional a cappella performers and professors from Berklee College of Music and the Women’s A Cappella Association.

In the afternoon there will be street singing by non-scholastic performance groups from 1-4pm. A cappella fans can see their favorite scholastic performers again during their Street Singing showcase from 4-5:30pm. There will be five performance locations on Essex Street between Liberty Street and Washington Street.

The Pro Showcase featuring Vox One and the winners of the scholastic competition will be held in Murray Hall at 211 Bridge at 7pm. Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended; tickets are $8.00 in advance, $10.00 at the door.

For complete information on Haunted Harmonies, visit HauntedHarmonies.com.

The a cappella festival is part of a month of musical programming on the Fountain Stage organized by Salem Gathering, and will coincide with this weekend’s Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair, which is produced by the Salem Chamber of Commerce. For complete information on the month-long Salem Haunted Happenings festival, visit HauntedHappenings.org.

Jordan concludes, “I think this festival will be a wonderful experience for the high school and colleges that will participate, but the real winners will be the visitors and residents who come out to enjoy the music and talent of these wonderful scholastic and non-scholastic performers.”

Parade To Set Tone of Haunted Happenings

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

Oct 032016

While October 1st technically starts Salem’s month-long celebration of Halloween, the real kick-off has been the Annual Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade. This year, the 21st annual parade will be held Thursday, Oct. 6th from 6:30pm-8pm.

The Salem Chamber of Commerce cordially invites you to participate as a walker, to become a volunteer, or just attend this year’s event, which will feature the theme “100 Years of Parks and Play.”

The term “children of all ages” could not better describe the participants as thousands of Salem’s students from kindergarten to college and our local business owners will be ready to march from Shetland Park to the Salem Common.

Along the way you will see colors, lights, sounds and faces of kids basking in the limelight that for that given moment they are the center of attention. They represent all that is fun about Salem.

The Annual Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade will be starting from Shetland Properties on Congress Street then turning left onto Derby Street, right onto Central Street, left onto Front Street, right onto Washington Street, right onto the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall and ending at the Common.

This will necessitate certain road closings from 6pm until 9:30pm.

Congress Street will be closed from Harbor Street to Derby Street.
Derby Street will be closed from Congress Street to Central Street.
Commuters will not be able to use Route 1A between Dodge St. and Brown Street which includes Derby Street, Hawthorne Boulevard and Washington Square at the Common entrance.
Front Street and Washington Street between New Derby Street and Church Street will be closed.
Essex Street will be closed at Washington Street.

When it all stops at the Common, it does not end as there will be a continuing celebration with local favorite DJ Doug entertaining the crowd.

For the latest developments, please check the Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade Facebook page

It is a parade, it is a party, it is a traveling brochure of things to come during Haunted Happenings in Salem Ma. this month. And by attending, you will be a part of it!

Older Entries Newer Entries