Parranda— the Party continues at PEM!

 Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Festivals  No Responses »
Sep 152016
 

What do people in Salem MA and surrounding communities do on a Thursday night, that is the 3rd Thursday night of the month that other people don’t do? We go to a museum— to party! Tonight the PEM/PM party is called Parranda, from 6-9pm at the Peabody Essex Museum.

parrandaYou are invited to join us at PEM celebrating Salem’s Dominican culture and community, on an evening where the museum stays open later for the general community to make greater use of the facilities in a way that brings people together through an exchange of ideas and culture.

Cut loose, get fired up and enjoy live traditional merengue tipico music as well as the latest hits in Dominican hip hop and electronic music.

But that’s not all there is to Parranda! Savor delicious foods, enjoy artwork by students from the Point neighborhood, create your own fufus, popular Dominican noise-making toys, or grab a pot and join the Parranda.

Co-organized with the North Shore Community Development Coalition, Parranda  should foster a connection with the Dominican community through lively cultural exposure and exchanges.

While there is a $12 entrance fee at the door, Salem residents, college students and PEM members will have free access.

There will also be a cash bar and special small plates menu supplied by the Hawthorne Hotel.

The Peabody Essex Museum is located at 161 Essex Street, Salem Ma. For additional information, please call 978-745-9500.

Estas invitado!

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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.

Bridget Bishop“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

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

 History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals  No Responses »
Aug 202016
 

SJSFDiversity 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 10th 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.

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Salem Maritime Festival Sails into Salem

 Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Festivals  No Responses »
Aug 042016
 

Maritime_Festival_Logo_NLShips, 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.

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Summer Breeze Brings Many Things to Salem in July

 Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Shopping  No Responses »
Jul 212016
 

Look at what the summer sea breeze just blew across the Essex Street Pedestrian Walkway.

Designed to be complimentary to the popular 3rd Thursday of the month PEM/PM parties at the Peabody Essex Museum (which this evening is coincidentally called Summer Breeze),  The Museum Place Mall is launching what it hopes will be an every 3rd Thursday of the month event when select businesses in the Mall will retain later business hours as well as offer special promotions to all of their customers!

Some of the incentives to be offered include:

  • A free Aromatherapy session with any 10 minute or longer chair massage at A Sacred Place Wellness Center
  • 25% off cash sales of any clock at Bewitched in Salem, with extended hours to 7:30pm
  • A free small iced or hot coffee with any $10 purchase from 6-8pm at Jodi Bee Bakes
  • Refreshments and 10% off all purchases from 6-8pm at Kan.del
  • $10 off any half hour reading at OMEN
  • 10% discount on premium packages at Salem’s Vintage Photography, with extended hours to 7:30pm
  • Pork Rib dinner at Village Tavern! Large Succulent ‘right-out-of-the-smoker’ Pork Ribs served with five side orders! $11.99 (normally $18.99)

And possibly more!!!

Summer BreezeThis is an interesting and quite welcome compliment to the diverse activities that the Peabody Museum presents.  And not to leave out tonight’s PEM/PM activities, you are invited to explore American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals, from 6-9pm.

Taste local seafood, listen to breezy reggae beats by DJ Zeke Stern of the Green Lion Crew, enjoy works by plein-air painting group The Newburyport 10, create rearrangeable poetry and be fascinated by a presentation from staff at the Shoals Marine Lab.

Cash bar will feature Chateau Beaulieu Rose, Provence and Caribbean Rum Punch. And as always, there will be a pecial small plates menu from the Hawthorne Hotel.

It will be an interesting evening. If you have the time, we invite you to follow the breeze.

The Peabody Essex Museum is located at 161 Essex Street.

 

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