dance – Salem Main Streets

10 Years and Still Growing. Salem Arts Festival Returns in June

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Apr 102018

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Art has stood the test of time as an expression of the times within which it was born. As the World Art Day celebration approaches on April 15^th, here in Salem we look ahead to our own celebration of expression with the Salem Arts Festival, scheduled June 1-3, 2018.

For World Art Day, galleries and museums throughout the world are encouraged to have extended hours, hold conferences and panel discussions during the day, and host celebratory events in the evening. April 15^th is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, a renowned painter, sculptor, writer, innovator, philosopher, and thinker.

Salem Arts Festival

Over 5,000 people regularly attend and take part in our family-friendly festival, transforming downtown Salem, MA into an opportunity for the arts community to showcase a wide range of talents, not dissimilar to DaVinci. The Salem Arts Festival includes a gallery of juried artists’ work in Old Town Hall, outdoor stage venues for performance and dance, an artist and artisan street fair, a collaborative public arts project, and much more!

“Salem is busting at the seams with visual artists, musicians, poets, dancers, makers, and creative individuals of all types. It’s one of the many reasons people love living and visiting here,” said Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets, co-organizer of the Salem Arts Festival.

“In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we will focus the festival around the Salem Main Streets themes of ‘Live, Work, Play.’ I’m very excited to see the different ways we can use the arts to explore what it means to live, work, and play in Salem.”

For the 5th year, a community-built public art installation is being included as part of the festival. Bee to Brick, this year’s community art project, embraces the “Live, Work, Play” theme by celebrating some of the hardest “working” bugs out there – pollinators! Bee to Brick will install playful swarms of several hundred “bees” around the festival area, created entirely out of recycled plastic bottles and other reusable plastic pollution. After the project, the bees will be transformed into “bricks” by Phoenix School students for their “Bottle Brick Project.”

Community groups are being sought who want to participate in a workshop, and/or individuals who can come to one of our Monday night workshops. All ages and abilities are enthusiastically encouraged to contribute, no skill set required. More information at www.salemartsfestival.com/bee-to-brick

The Salem Arts Festival is especially pleased to announce that the festival, initially run as a project of Salem Main Streets, has expanded this year to be run in collaboration with the Creative Collective.

The Creative Collective is a group of invested creative professionals with the mission of connecting creativity, community and commerce. John Andrews, Creative Director, shared his thoughts about this partnership. “I am very excited to partner on another project with Salem Main Streets and expand the impact that the festival has on Salem and support the over 100 artists, performers, artisan vendors, and creatives that participate in this dynamic event.”

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective and a collaboration of Salem organizations which provide support for the festival, including the City of Salem, Salem State University, Salem Food Tours, the Phoenix School, Salem Public Space Project, the Salem YMCA, Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Arts Association.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The festival also relies on the gracious support of its other creative partners, including Retonica Event Lighting, The Scarlet Letter Press, and Octocog Marketing and Design.

If you would like to support this dynamic annual cultural mainstay for its 10th anniversary celebration, please contact Robyn Gianoppolo at robyn@creativesalem.com or visit salemartsfestival.com/support

For more information about the Salem Arts Festival, please see www.salemartsfestival.com or contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or (978)744-0004 (x115)

(All photos from 2017 Salem Arts Festival, Facebook page)

“Tidal Shift” and “Mural Slam” to be Featured in this Year’s Salem Arts Festival

History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News, Volunteer Opportunities 1 Response »

May 292017

Art is good. Art is what you have at an arts fest. But the 9th annual Salem Arts Festival (to be held June 2-4^th) is art and much, much more. This popular free family-friendly event will feature over 100 artists and performers, and includes a variety of art, music, dance, and theatre performances. Public activities include onsite art-making for all ages, local artisan vendors selling their creations, and a community-built public art installation.

One of the most anticipated events this year is “Tidal Shift,” a collaborative public art project led by artist and architect Claudia Paraschiv of Salem Public Space Project, featuring an installation of plastic bag jellyfish over Front Street. During the past few months, community groups and locals of all ages have created hundreds of jellyfish as part of an initiative to help educate the community about the negative impacts of plastic bag usage and the City of Salem’s upcoming plastic bag reduction. A brief celebration and presentation of the “Tidal Shift” project will be included in the Friday night reception at 6:35 p.m.

This year, the Salem Arts Festival also celebrates the second “Mural Slam” on Artists’ Row, organized by the City of Salem’s Public Art Commission and Public Art Planner Deborah Greel. Murals will be painted throughout the weekend by 10 selected artists and will be completed by the end of the festival.

In addition, the Festival marks the return of vendors to Artists’ Row, with both new and returning tenants for the 2017 season.

Festival Specifics

The Salem Arts Festival kicks off with an opening reception at Salem’s Old Town Hall on Friday, June 2nd at 6 p.m. The free event allows visitors to enjoy beautiful art work while being entertained by renowned local and regional performers Lindsay Straw, Dingonek Street Band, and headliners Grupo Fantasia.

The Festival takes place at a variety of indoor and outdoor venues in downtown Salem. Primary locations include Old Town Hall, Derby Square, Front Street, and Artists’ Row. A Juried Art Show will be held in Old Town Hall throughout the Festival, with an artisan street fair in the area around the building on Saturday and Sunday. Live performances will take place on Derby Square, Artists’ Row, and Front Street.

The Salem Arts Festival is rain or shine event; in case of inclement weather, performances will be moved into Old Town Hall. Full schedule and programs will be available on site during the Festival, as well as the Festival website (www.salemartsfestival.com).

“There’s been a tremendous amount of collaboration between so many local groups and individuals to continue to improve and expand the Festival every year. I can’t wait to share the phenomenal energy and talent that will be on display this year,” says Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets (SMS), the community non-profit organization coordinating the Festival.

The goal of the Salem Arts Festival is to promote all the arts in Salem and to provide the entire North Shore arts community with an opportunity to showcase their talents. The Festival is run in collaboration with Salem Main Streets by a team of dedicated volunteers, including media partner Creative Salem and representatives from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem YMCA, Salem State University, The Phoenix School, Salem Food Tours, Salem Arts Association, and many more.

Speaking of dedicated volunteers, we are still looking for volunteers for the Salem Arts Festival! If you would like to join our merry band during this year’s Festival, or if you’ve signed up for one slot but might be available for more, please sign up online at http://signup.com/go/lccZdGg. Even if you’re away the weekend of the Festival, we have some volunteer needs on the days leading up to the event!

Food, Fun with Friends, and Finds: Salem First Friday

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Mar 292013

Reputation attained, and rightly so, Salem First Friday is all about foods, fun with friends and finds. The upcoming SFF on April 5th will be more of the same. Merchants open later. Bargains available to those who participate!

But what makes SFF especially endearing to many attendees are the extras. For example if you have young children, that is not an obstacle if they don’t “get it” about shopping. You can leave them (ages 5-12) at the Salem YMCA for $15 anytime from 6-9pm. There will be well supervised gym activities, gymnastics, sports, arts & crafts, swimming, and dancing! Pizza & drinks are included. Mention Salem First Friday and save $5 off the $15 fee. The kids may not want to leave! Space is limited and you must call ahead to save a spot- 978-740-9622.

And then there are the special presentations at the Museum Place Mall. Last month it was a belly dancer; this month Urban Coastal Dance will present excerpts from “Aquatic Parallels” an evening of contemporary dance illustrating the similarities between body systems and aquatic environments. Choregraphy by company founders: Cecilia Seaward, Jamie Arnold, Sera Smith.

Urban Coastal Dance formed in 2012 out of a desire to link dance with community activism and wellness. The company’s first performance was last summer, right here in Salem, MA and is currently based in Providence, RI.

According to Cecilia Seaward, “We are coming up to Salem because it is where we had our first performance as a collective. We received such a positive response and it was a great experience for us.

“Through our performance we want to build an appreciation for the flow of life and illustrate the similarities between the ocean’s waterways and human body system. When developing the choreography we discussed this idea that humanity can be a destructive force in the world but being humbled by the vastness of nature, especially by something as powerful and beautiful as the ocean can lead to a peaceful appreciation and acceptance of the flow of life. That is what we are hoping to convey.”

First Friday, shop ’til you drop, and in between experience some relaxing choreographed aquatic movement. Salem Ma. Something different every time.

Get your tickets now for the 80’s Dance Party

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Sep 062012

Don’t miss the 8O’s Dance Party! This event is on Thursday, September 20, 2012 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Salem Waterfront Hotel. There is a contest for the best 8O’s outfit, as well as raffles, and a cash bar. There will be free appetizers and 8O’s music which will be provided by the popular Sound City Entertainment. Dance the night away to popular hits of the 80’s while supporting the efforts of Salem Main Streets and downtown revitalization. There will be a special appearance by Scary Mary.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Call (978) 744-0004 to reserve your ticket now, or you may purchase your ticket in person at the Salem Chamber of Commerce at 265 Essex St. or at Eastern Bank on 125 Washington St.

80’s Dance Party Fundraiser

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Aug 152012

It’s time to revisit the decade of teased hair, leg warmers, and neon leggings at the biggest dance party fundraising event of the year, the 8O’s Dance Party! This like totally hip event is on Thursday, September 20, 2012 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Salem Waterfront Hotel. There is a contest for the best 8O’s outfit, as well as raffles, and a cash bar. There will be free appetizers and 8O’s music which will be provided by the popular Sound City Entertainment. Dance the night away to popular hits of the 80’s while supporting the efforts of Salem Main Streets and downtown revitalization.