PEM – Page 13 – Salem Main Streets

Wiki Spotlight on Salem’s PEM

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.

Retro Dance Party At PEM

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Apr 132014

“Celebrities and TV icons” will flood the streets of Salem on April17th as the Peabody Essex Museum presents “Tune In“, its next episode of the highly popular monthly PEM/PM open late party series. The theme is a tribute to pop culture, especially 1960s TV sitcoms.

Of course the attendees will really be the general public in costume, representing their favorite over-the-top TV icons. Considering the creative minds on the North Shore, we can expect to see Lucy, Samantha, and Jeannie. Because this is Salem, no doubt a few vampires and werewolves will join in as well (remember the Addams Family and The Munsters?).

This dance party is being presented in collaboration with Go Out Loud, Salem’s LGBT & modern equality organization; entertainment for this high-energy dance party will be by DJ Gay Jim Clerkin (KISS 108, Matty in the Morning).

Other activities of the evening include a chance to show off your ‘60s sitcom knowledge in a trivia contest, a drag performance by Joslyn Fox of RuPaul’s Drag Race, an appearance from The Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and a photo booth with fashion photographer Corey Banda.

You can also enjoy cocktails and small plates from the Hawthorne Hotel, try your hand at making far-out paper dolls and tour PEM’s newest exhibition, California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way.

This evening of music, dancing, cocktails, costuming, art making and games will take place from 6-9pm. Entry is free to members and Salem residents; admission to nonmembers is $10 at the door.

For more info call 866‐745‐1876 or visit the PEM Web site at www.pem.org

Our Datebook Seems To Be Full This Week

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Nov 162013

When exactly are things supposed to slow down in Salem?

We just finished Fall Restaurant Week. Well, actually two weeks of fine dining.

We are in the midst of Winter Market, Thursdays (except Thanksgiving week) from 3-6pm at Old Town Hall.

The soon to be Turner’s Seafood Restaurant will be opening this week (or next, everything needs to be just right). Yes, another different flavor of dining comes to Salem. Described in their own words, “Salem experiences the heritage, dedication & expertise of our family’s four generations… sourcing, preparing & serving the freshest, best tasting seafood at our authentic New England seafood restaurant & market in storied Lyceum Hall.”

Brunonia Barry (The Lace Reader and The Map of True Places) noted author from Salem —a New York Times Best-selling author we may add— Baccante award winner & Strand Fellowship recipient will close out the 2013 “Seven Lectures at Seven Gables” series at (where else) the House of Seven Gables, Wednesday at 7pm.

CinemaSalem is running a special double feature this Thursday on the 8pm premiere of Catching Fire by preceding it with the original Hunger Games movie at 5pm.

Another celebrity comes to town on Thursday, when Jenny Johnson, the Emmy Award Winning producer and television host of TV Diner visits J. Mode for a “Girls Night Event,” 6-8:30pm. The evening’s guests will enjoy wine, small bites and a beautiful spread offered by Pretzel Crisps, plus of course shopping. Space is limited and the first 25 guests will receive a swag bag filled with surprises. Attendees will also be treated to a raffle and the opportunity to earn double points in J. Mode’s customer loyalty program.

But before that you might want to visit the Peabody Essex Museum for Members’ Appreciation Day. This holiday season, the Museum Shop wants to thank members for their support with a special gift and additional discounts. Visit the shop and receive your exclusive PEM swag bag!

Join then from 1-3pm for a book signing with Benneville Strohecker, founder of the Salem-based Harbor Sweets. He’ll sign copies of his new children’s book, The Day the Ocean Changed to Chocolate. Also meet a representative from Tea Forte, and sample delicious teas.

Close out the evening with the latest in the PEM/PM after hours gathering. This month Anime and Manga; these are Japanese comic books and animation that have taken America by storm. Come celebrate this fascinating medium from 6:30-9:30pm with a visual music performance, drawing with professional graphic artists and an engaging conversation organized by the Tannery Series. Members and Salem residents (with ID) free, non-members $10. Cash bar. Refreshments available for purchase in the Atrium Cafe.

And that is just this week.

On Nov. 30 we take part in Small Business Saturday, but that’s another blog.

PEM Creatively Celebrates The Future

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Nov 092013

Point to one store, one attraction that proudly proclaims that there is life in Salem before, during and after Halloween and you would be looking at the Peabody Essex Museum. This is not your grandparents type of museum, nor most likely your parents. It is a vibrant, enticing, welcoming community meeting-house environment with exhibits for any age group.

Saturday Nov. 9th is a perfect example as PEM presents Future Creativity Gala from 7:30pm to midnight. There will be dining, dancing and cocktails as they celebrate the future of the creative process. Yes, in a museum. There will also be creative experience rooms which will feature opportunities to interact with guests and artists with activities designed to engage the senses.

For example, future-themed hors d’oeuvres and small plates, both sweet and savory, will be passed throughout the evening to create a unique dinner-by-the-bite culinary experience.

Matthew Aucoin will compose new work in real time. Guests become part of the process by influencing the style of his composition. Collaborators Kier GoGwilt and Nick Pope will simultaneously react to his composition through additional music and visual art. (Aucoin is PEM’s first composer-in-residence and an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.)

Utilizing taste, touch, sound, sight and smell, Janice Wang will explore the ways we interact with food and with each other through culinary experience. Wang is interested in cognitive psychology in the dining room. (Wang is an MIT Media Lab researcher as part of Kevin Slavin’s Playful Systems group.)

But more than words are needed to explore the creativity that is the PEM. John Andrews of Social Palates posted a link on Twitter this week to the photographs he’s taken highlighting the PEM’s brand of community interaction. With an eye to the future of creativity at PEM, we invite you to also look at the recent past.

Tickets may still be available to Saturday’s event. For more information contact 978-542-1611 or email gala@pem.org. Proceeds from the Future Creativity Gala provide necessary support for the museum’s education, outreach and public programs, as well as new exhibitions.

Anything Happening Before Halloween?

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Sep 272013

Spotlights are about to be switched on. While it may not be the Greatest Show on Earth, Salem’s “Haunted Happenings” October month-long festival will give most other Halloween festivals a run for their money. But before we turn the page to all that is dark and gloomy and fun, September has one more week.

And what a week it has been and will still be.

Another great Farmers Market took place on Thursday, followed by a lively PEM/PM after-hours gathering of the Steampunk followers (as evidenced by the lively Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band pictured here). Feed the stomach and the mind.

Speaking of feeding oneself, Billy Costa of NECN’s “TV Diner” will serve (could not resist) as the emcee of the 4th Annual Mystery Dine Around Salem Waterfront Hotel, Friday from 5:30-11pm. The menu? “Be transported to one of 15 designated restaurants for a fabulous dinner; then following dinner, guests return to the hotel to enjoy the Decadent Dessert Buffet, dancing, live DJ, and the opportunity to bid on an assortment of auction items.” There may be tickets still available, call 978.740.8788. Proceeds to benefit The Lifebridge Campus.

Then looking ahead to Saturday, well you can’t beat the drums loud enough to support the special fundraiser for the Boys/Girls Club of Salem music program taking place at Wynott’s Wands, 127 Essex St.

Salem musician Aaron Katz from The Dejas plans to drum 30 hours straight in an effort to set a new World-Record for Drumming in a Retail Store. And spurring him on will hopefully be you and other community members making donations.

Children, tourists, artists and residents are invited to get involved and bring their own instruments to participate and show solidarity for the music program’s initiative— as well as give Aaron some musical changes of pace for his drumming.

Survival of another kind manifests itself later in the day, as The Running Dead- Zombie 5K run is unleashed. Runners will try to stay the course while besieged by “zombies” who have the lone goal of eliminating you. The choice is yours. Proceeds will benefit the NSMC Cancer Center. Info and registration at www.runningdeadz5k.com

And then the weekend ends with a full Sunday.

Cruise the historic waters of Salem Sound aboard a full-scale replica of the 1812 privateer schooner FAME! From 11am to 12:45pm passengers will learn about the fishermen, pirates, privateers, traders and men of war who shaped our North Shore. Limited Availability! No reservations. Booth opens at 10:30AM. First come, first served. 80 Pickering Wharf. More info available at www.trailsandsails.org.

Enjoy Spiritual Middens: The Archaeology of Folklore – an exhibit and artifacts on display at the Witch House, 310 1/2 Essex St. You will find featured deliberately concealed items designed to protect a home’s vulnerable places, the threshold and the hearth. Entrance to the exhibit is free to Trails & Sails event attendees from 1-3pm only. For more info go to www.trailsandsails.org.

Learn about Salem and the Abolitionist Movement. A walking tour will begin at Old Town Hall in Derby Square; examine the history and impact of local and national abolitionists in Salem. This 90 minute tour will move around downtown Salem on city sidewalks. For more info go to www.trailsandsails.org. Runs from 1-3 pm.

Share an experience as you observe The 3rd Annual Gimme Shelter Birdhouse Auction, 1-3 pm at Artist’s Row, 24 New Derby St. Featured birdhouses were designed, built, and donated by local folks of all ages and abilities. Proceeds to benefit the Northeast Animal Shelter. Hosted by Salem Collective of Artists and Musicians, Serendipitish, and Social Palates. For more info go to salemcollective@gmail.com. or www.facebook.com/salemcollective/events

Drive over to Winter Island Pavilion for the 4 Paws Fundraiser Charity Cookout for Service Dogs, from 1-5 pm. Food, games, a bounce house, and music are all included for the price of admission! Plus raffle prizes. All proceeds will go to the Charity 4PawsforAbility towards Gabriel Lacerda’s goal to help him receive an Autism Service Dog! Fun for the whole family and a great cause! For more details go to www.paws4gabe.com

Taste the Gables. Join local chefs for an elegant evening of fun, food, and camaraderie under the tent on The Gables’ oceanfront lawn. Proceeds will benefit the preservation of eight historic houses. Caterers and chefs, vintners and brewers will offer their specialties and compete for your vote. It runs from 4-8 pm at 115 Derby St. For more info go to www.7gables.org.

Many of these events are benefits. Salem may be famous for Halloween as a tourist destination, but we are that and so much more.

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