Downtown Salem – Page 65 – Salem Main Streets

A Day of Learning, A Day of Fun

May 102014

School is in session this Saturday as Education Day breaks out all over Salem Ma. But it will be unlike anything you’ve seen before. Classes are in skin care, recycling, rope making, mixology, Farmers Market, photography and more.

The Salem Education Foundation is presenting the “2nd Annual Hats Off to Education Weekend” as a way of promoting community involvement and investment in the public schools of Salem, Ma.

The schedule as posted by SEF includes:

Workshops and Fun Activities, at Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・   The Community Development Coalition will host a bilingual scavenger hunt in Old Town Hall and visitors can take part in a session titled “Journey through the Immigrant Experience”
・   TD Bank will offer finance classes for teens and adults
・   John Andrews of Social Palates and “we_are_Salem” will offer a photography class
・   The House of The Seven Gables will offer bilingual “Dominican Tales”
・   Salem Historical Tours will speak about the city’s rich history
・   The North Shore Career Center will offer workshops on how to build a resume and find a job
・   Henry Miller’s Architecture Lab at Boston Architectural College will offer two hour long workshops on how to build a speaker for your handheld device. Space is limited for this workshop. Please register by emailing Henry.Miller@the-bac.edu
・   Additionally, children will have the opportunity to look at gemstones, learn about beekeeping, brush up on their Harry Potter facts, learn about the importance of recycling, healthy food and gardening and engage in arts activities

Free Community Read Book, Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・ The Community Advisory Board will give away copies of “The Good Thief,” written by Hannah Tinti, a Salem native. This is the book selected for the city of Salem’s first Community Read.

Activities at the Salem Common will include:
・   The Hogwarts Hustle Kids’ Fun Run at 10:30am This is a half-mile fun run for kids age 12 and under. There will also be a dash for kids 4 and under. Kids are encouraged to dress as their favorite Harry Potter characters. Finisher ribbons will be awarded to the first 100 runners
・   12 noon Basketball Tournament! Email Andre at adaley@bgcgs.org
・   Adults and children alike can have a Zumba experience with the energetic Gina Grinarml
・   Learn circuit training with Kerry Murphy
・   Play in a basketball game with Mayor Kim Driscoll
・   Hula hoop and free dance to the rhythms of Mamadou’s drummers!

Performances, at Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・   The Salem High School Jazz Band
・   Destination Imagination team Challenges
・   School-age Latin and African dancers from Greg Coles and his Salsa for the Schools program
・   A theater group and other local talents

The SEF mission is to provide funding for projects that further students’ educational experiences in science, mathematics, the arts and humanities. It supports projects that go beyond the scope of those funded by the Salem Public School Department. And it works with the larger community to make schools a true community enterprise by promoting and coordinating volunteerism and participation in the schools.

Learn something and have a lot of fun.

Wiki Spotlight on Salem’s PEM

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May 032014

Spreading the word about Salem, MA to a global audience is up to you today. The Peabody Essex Museum is holding an all day Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, 9am-5pm in the Create Space 2 area of PEM. It is open to the public and free of charge.

Native American and Chinese art collections will be the focus of the day. It will be a fun-filled event with a social purpose. And another great way to spend a Saturday in Salem doing something completely different than last week!

“We’re bringing together Wikipedia editors, museum staff and anyone interested in joining the ranks of Wikipedia’s global volunteer editor corps to share PEM’s unique resources with the world,” explains Ed Rodley in a recent Connected PEM blog.

Rodley, who is Associate Director of Integrated Media at PEM, adds “We’ll be uploading images of objects from our permanent collections, while learning how to write and edit Wikipedia articles…and meeting new friends.”

With over 4 million English language articles, Wikipedia is considered the world’s most successful online encyclopedia. Anyone with Internet access can be an editor but there are of course rules and guidelines.

Training, advice and guidance will be offered at PEM Edit-a-thon by experienced Wikipedians as well as by museum personnel.

You are advised to bring your own laptop and charger.

Lunch will be provided (pizza) plus coffee, tea and water, but you may bring your own.

For a full schedule of the day’s activities go to the PEM Edit-a-thon Wiki page where you can also sign up.

Poets and Poems to be Honored in Salem

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Apr 292014

Letters become words, words become phrases, and phrases become ideas. Then gifted writers craft it all into messages for poems. Those writers, words and poems will be honored later this week as the annual Massachusetts Poetry Festival will be held from May 2 – 4 in downtown Salem.

Participating poets include Kim Addonizio, Lucie Brock-Broido, Rafael Campo, Oliver de la Paz, Carol Ann Duffy, Cornelius Eady, Rhina Espaillat, Forrest Gander, David Ferry, Li-Young Lee, Philip Levine, Marge Piercy, Susan Rich, Vivian Shipley, and C. D. Wright.

But more than just poems though, the Festival also offers workshops, panels, readings, music, visual arts presentations, and a book fair featuring small presses and literary magazines.

As stated on the Mass Poetry website: “It’s a perfect time to celebrate poetry, meet up with old friends that share your love of words, and make new friends.”

To find out more about the Festival go to their website.

Live from Salem MA it is Sunday!

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Apr 272014

Yes, almost the same headline as yesterday’s blog, because today, Sunday April 27th offers yet another day of fun-filled community events:

5K Road Race & Fun Walk, 9-10am

Wicked Good Books Giveaway, 10am – 2pm

Y Art show at Gulu Gulu, 4-6pm

A mostly flat and fast course awaits an expected 400 runners and walkers today during the 18th Annual North Shore Wellness Fair 5K Road Race & Fun Walk. The race, hosted by Salem State University, promotes and encourages a healthy lifestyle. Proceeds benefit LifeBridge, the Northeast Animal Shelter and the Wellness Center at Salem State University. Streets along the race route near Canal Street and Lafayette Street will be affected during the race time, which is from approximately 9-10am.

Be there, bring a chair, breathe fresh air.

Afterwords, you can run or jog over to our brick and cobblestone Pedestrian walkway on Essex Street for Day #2 of the Great Book Giveaway. It’s a BYOB (bring your own box or bag) free book event. Where The Derby Bookstore once stood, soon will be Wicked Good Books, 215 Essex St. Surplus books in the changeover are being made available to the public today as they were yesterday.

What kind of books are there for the taking?

From the Wicked Good Books Facebook page “We have quite a mix left for FREE, including lots of mysteries, gardening, cookbooks, and self-help, and a HUGE assortment of Young Adult. Please share!”

Speaking of sharing, Salem YMCA program participants will offer for your viewing pleasure over 140 pieces of art, courtesy of the Gulu Gulu Cafe. Head to the Y Art Show at the Gulu, 247 Essex St, from 4-6pm, and if you see something you like then bid on it to support the Y! The day will include a silent auction, music, art, and fun! Music by Jeff Savlon & Brian Donnelly.

Co-sponsor, Salem Collective of Artists and Musicians (SCAM), assisted by holding an art workshop with the Y kids and in hanging the artwork!

All proceeds benefit Salem YMCA childcare programs and initiatives.

It will be another great day to visit Salem Ma. We welcome you to our community.

Live from Salem MA it is Saturday!

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Apr 262014

Writing a blog about Salem Ma is fun, but it is even more enjoyable when there is more than one event going on during the same day. And in our community, that is quite often. For example among the activities today we have:

Healthy Kids Day, Noon-3pm
Salem Jazz & Soul Fundraiser, 8-10:30pm

Healthy Kids day is just what it sounds like. A day for kids to play and learn and have fun, fun , fun. The YMCA’s national initiative to improve families’ health and well-being, features games, healthy cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts and more to motivate and teach families how to develop a healthy routine at home.

Each area Y has different activities. For the Salem Y there will be:

Summer Camp games
Swim tests, swim safety, demos and family swim relays in the pool
Family Zumba
Theatre Games
Vendors:
Smoke House, with the Salem Fire Department
K9 Dogs, with the Sheriffs Department
McGruff Crime Dog, with the Police Department
North Shore Physical Therapy
Plummer Home for Boys
Walgreens
Energy assessments
Children Fingerprinting with New York Life
Woodworking workshop with Home Depot

The Salem Y is located at One Sewall St. Call 978.740.9622 for more info.

And then the night belongs to music. The sounds of Jazz and Soul will fill the air because… the Salem Jazz and Soul Spring Fundraiser takes place tonight in Ames Hall, 290 Essex St.

But more than just music, it is also a dance party featuring the band Combo Sabroso, (tasty combo) which presents “soul cleansing” Latin dance music and reggae. You will hear hard hitting “salsa dura” sounds of the 1970s (Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Oscar D’leon and Sonora Poncena), salsa arrangements of American R&B (Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers and Santana) plus reggae versions of pop hits (Elton John, Steve Miller and The Police). The band’s members are from Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Saint Maarten, Venezuela and the United States.

And that’s not all! North Shore businesses and artists have also donated items for auctions and raffles!

Tickets are available from salemjazzsoul.org, as well as Pamplemousse, and In a Pig’s Eye; proceeds will fund the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival’s non-profit mission of producing free concerts and supporting music education causes on the North Shore.

From start to finish, Salem is a Saturday destination. And don’t forget in between to visit our diverse dining and shopping options in the downtown district.

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