Mayor – Salem Main Streets

So, Anything Going On This Week in Salem Ma?

Haunted Happenings, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News No Responses »

Oct 012014

Step right up, though this may not be the “greatest show on Earth,” Salem Ma does try its best to give residents, North Shore neighbors and visitors the most for their time & money spent here during the month of October. Just this week we are opening our Info Booth to be staffed with ambassadors of goodwill to assist fun-seekers and officially kicking off festivities with the Chamber of Commerce 19th Annual Haunted Happenings Grand Parade, as well as once again launching the Mayor’s Night Out and Trick or Treat with the Mayor events.

Practically speaking there are more activities scheduled for the first three days of October than we have room for in this blog. We suggest you look at the calendar information supplied by at least these three great community websites. Mix and match the information.

Specifically we would like to point out that:

The 19th Annual Haunted Happenings Grand Parade, presented by the Salem Chamber of Commerce steps off Thursday, Oct. 2nd at 6:30pm. This year’s parade theme is “Fantasy.” Children from grade school through high school and perhaps a big kid or two from college will march through our streets in costume as a tip of the hat to all the activities to follow this month. The spotlight, though, is where it should be, on the young people who keep Halloween alive with their imagination.

The Mayor’s Night Out is Oct. 3rd and that Friday Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, in partnership with Salem’s attractions and museums, encourages Salem residents to leave their homes to sample attractions, museums and even parking (at East India Mall garage after 4 pm) free of charge! Just bring your Salem ID and be on the look-out from 3 – 10 pm for “Mayor’s Night Out” signs at participating businesses.

Trick-or-Treating with Mayor Kim Driscoll at the East India Fountain takes place from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Bring the kids, join the Mayor as the procession will Trick-or-Treat along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, The Museum Place Mall Shops, and beyond. Trick-or-Treat Bags provided. Costumes encouraged. And of course, it is another free of charge event.

Salem’s Downtown District is prepared to show you a good time this month, this 5th season of our calendar year. We welcome “kids of all ages,” to explore and be entertained.

Keeping the Kid in Halloween

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Oct 012013

Before the Halloween celebration is ravaged by the hordes of grown-ups and the wild costumes, we in Salem make sure the children get their day in the sun (so to speak…).

The Haunted Happenings Grand Parade. If you know anything about Salem Ma and our month-long Haunted Happenings celebration, you have heard of this march around town.

This year step off is at 6:30pm on Oct. 3; it begins at Shetland Park, ambles through Salem, and ends at the Common. The theme is “Books Come Alive.” Most any resident in Salem can tell you they were either a parent, relative or neighbor of some child who marched in the parade— or they were in the parade themselves.

According to Rinus Oosthoek, Executive Director, Salem Chamber of Commerce, “It is a night-time tradition that brings out the entire city and people from all of the surrounding cities and towns to kick off the Halloween season. It is filled with color, pageantry, music and the enthusiasm of thousands of Salem’s students from kindergarten to college age and local business owners.”

To mount such an undertaking, though, The Chamber of Commerce is still looking for volunteers to help.

Volunteers will be helping with:

Helping participants find their spot in the parade
Lining up the 8 parade line-up sections
Finding banner carriers in their section (or walking/carrying the banner in the parade themselves).
All volunteers can join the VIP’s at the end of the Parade on the Grandstand in front of the Common.

It’s fun and we call the event “organized chaos” from start to finish…., and we hope you can help.

Volunteers should be at the entrance to Shetland Office park between 5-5.30pm to receive their assignment and pick up their volunteer T-shirt.

Contact the Chamber at info@salem-chamber.org or call 978-745-3855.

If that wasn’t enough, Friday night, Oct. 4, there are two more events in which the little ones can participate.

The Mayor’s Night Out (3-10pm) is when Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, in partnership with Salem’s attractions and museums, welcomes Salem residents to check us out on our dime. Salem residents (kids too) with ID, are admitted free to attractions and museums. ID also provides free parking in the East India Mall garage after 4pm. Look for “Mayor’s Night Out” signs at participating businesses.

Our mayor is a busy person…. you can Join Mayor Driscoll for Trick-or-Treating at the East India Fountain. We will Trick-or-Treat along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, The Museum Place Mall Shops, and beyond. Trick-or-Treat Bags provided. Costumes encouraged. Parents bring the kids. Kids bring your parents.

For more information on these two events, call Salem City Hall at 978-745-9595.