Salem Arts Festival – Page 2 – Salem Main Streets

8th Annual Salem Arts Festival To Feature Over 80 Artists & Performers

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Jun 022016

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As Arts Festivals go, we think ours is a big deal. So much so that the Salem Arts Festival is not a one day experience but a 3-day extravaganza of culture, June 3-5th. What else would you call the intersection of over 80 artists and performers with a variety of art, music, dance, and theatre performances. The family-friendly festival also includes art-making for all ages, artisan vendors selling their creations, and a temporary public art installation.

And yes, something this big can’t be housed in one spot.

The Salem Arts Festival is spread out at a variety of venues in downtown Salem, with the primary focus on 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 this year will mostly be held outside (weather permitting) on Derby Square and Artists’ Row. The event is rain or shine, with a rain location for performances held upstairs at Old Town Hall and at 217 Essex Street (formerly “The Gathering”).

Full schedule and programs will be available on site during the festival, as well as the Festival website.

“I’m probably prouder of this event than any other Salem Main Streets initiative, because there’s been such tremendous 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 which started the Festival.

The Salem Arts Festival kicks off with an opening reception at Salem’s Old Town Hall on Friday, June 3rd at 6pm. The free event allows visitors to enjoy beautiful art work while being entertained by renowned local and regional performers North Shore Chamber Music, Gretchen and the Pickpockets, Siren of the Circle, and headliners Picante Soul.

In addition this year, Friday night will also serve as the grant reception for the Salem Cultural Council’s FY16 grantees.

One of the most anticipated events this year is “Move With Me”, a collaborative public art project led by artist and architect Claudia Paraschiv, featuring an installation of pinwheels over Front Street. During the past few months, community groups and locals of all ages and abilities have decorated several hundred individual pinwheels made of reclaimed sailcloth, drawing their own interpretations of traditional textile patterns from different cultures around the world.

This year, the Salem Arts Festival also celebrates the very first “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 12 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 2016 season.

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 representatives from Creative Salem, Salem State University, the Peabody Essex Museum, and many more.

Visitors interested in attending the Salem Arts Festival can find easy access to the downtown by public transportation or parking at one of the many downtown lots in the City. For more information, please visit www.salemartsfestival.com

SALEM303 Salem_Arts_Fest_Logo_Final

Fashion & Passion Make the Salem Scene

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Apr 072016

Talk of the town this past week has been about fashion. Salem, the Witch city, a hot spot for fashion? Yes, it is. An evening of fashion, fun, dancing, and more takes place Friday, April 8 at 7pm in Old Town Hall, as a fundraiser for the upcoming Salem Arts Festival.

The popularity of the SAF Fashion Show Fundraiser is not just in the fashion but in the community input. The fabulous fashions come from local boutiques, including: Avalanche Company Store, The Boutique, Lifebridge’s Second Chance Thrift Shop, Modern Millie Vintage & Consignments, Ocean Chic Boutique & Waterbar, Peabody Essex Museum Shop, RJ Coins and Jewelry, and TBT Post.

And even the make-up is contributed locally by awesome artists from Laura Lanes Skin Care, Rouge Cosmetics, and Radiance Lifestyle Salon.

But the local input doesn’t stop there.

If you’d like, you can actually start the evening earlier at 5 pm with art and a glass of prosecco at the opening of Ellen Hardy’s “French Toast” show at The Ugly Mug Diner.

Next at 6 pm, head over to The House of the Seven Gables for the opening of the Caroline Emmerton exhibit – AND if you bring your Fashion Show Fundraiser ticket with you, you can get a free drink!

Then, just before 7pm, head back back for the SAF Fashion Show Fundraiser at Old Town Hall.

It will be hosted by local comedian and Salem Comedy and Spirits Festival founder Mark Scalia.

You can dance the night away with DJ Noel Snow, with additional performers to be announced. Food, drink, and raffle will make the evening complete.

In fact, Bambolina, Ferreira Foods, Opus, and Jodi Bee Bakes will provide bite-size treats to sweeten up the night!

SAF Fashion Show Fundraiser has been generously sponsored by People’s United Bank. Special thanks to Salem Food Tours, Creative Salem, and the City of Salem in coordinating this event.

Old Town Hall is located at 32 Derby Square in Salem. For tickets order on-line, or call 978-744-0004, ask for Kylie Sullivan at Salem Main Streets.

Your support will help to keep the Salem Arts Festival growing and free for all!

Salem Arts Festival: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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Jun 072015

Sights, sounds, colors, characters— the Salem Arts Festival this weekend was “art” and much, much more. Thank you to all the people displaying their work, the volunteers, our partners in this project, and most of all, you, the attendees.

(Photo courtesy John Andrews of Social Palates Photography)

Salem Arts Festival: A Living Portrait of the Local Arts Scene

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Jun 052015

Living, growing, expanding— the 7th Annual Salem Arts Festival (which takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday here in Salem Ma) will have several firsts this year.

The musical acts on Friday night will be outside on Derby Square for the first time! Yes, music is a lively element woven into the fabric of our Salem Arts Festival. Music is entertainment. Music is also art.

Speaking of art, the annual Juried Art Show had a twist on the submission process that apparently super-charged the number of entries, according to Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets, (SMS), the community non-profit organization which started the Festival.

“I’m very excited about the juried gallery this year,” she says. “I think it’s the most diverse range of media and styles that we’ve ever had. This was our first year doing an on-site jury process, and we had more applications than ever before.”

And another “first” type event at the Festival is the “Front Yard Street Art” collaborative public art installation. It is one of the most anticipated events this year as it will transform Front Street into a temporary green space and masterpiece during the festival. “Front Yard Street Art” is a fiber arts project that was completed through the leadership of local artist Kate Babcock and the open participation of community members and groups of all ages and abilities.

In total, Salem Arts Festival will feature over 80 artists and performers, and includes a variety of art, music, dance, and theatre performances. The family-friendly event also includes art-making for all ages and artisan vendors selling their creations.

“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. We’re so excited about the phenomenal energy and talent that will be on display this year,” adds Sullivan.

The Festival is spread out at a variety of venues in downtown Salem, with the focus primarily on Old Town Hall, Derby Square, Front Street, and Artists’ Row.

The Festival kicks off with an opening reception at Salem’s Old Town Hall on Friday, June 5th at 6 pm. The free event allows visitors to enjoy beautiful art work while being entertained by renowned local performers Briana Paquin, Siren of the Circle, and headliners The Squeezebox Stompers.

This year, the Salem Arts Festival also celebrates the launch of Liz LaManche’s piece “Salem’s Connected World,” the first commissioned public art project completed by the City of Salem’s Public Art Commission and Public Art Planner Deborah Greel. It will be visible all throughout the festival grounds.

In addition, the Festival marks the return of vendors to Artists’ Row, with all new tenants for the 2015 season.

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

2015 Salem Arts Festival Schedule

Friday, June 5th – Old Town Hall Gallery Reception – 6 pm to 9 pm
7:00 – 7:50 pm, Briana Paquin
7:50 – 8:00 pm, Siren of the Circle
8:00 – 9:00 pm, The Squeezebox Stompers

Saturday June 6th – Gallery, Street Fair, and Art-Making – 11 am to 6 pm

Derby Square
11:30 am – 12:15 pm, The Bordellos
12:30 – 1:15 pm, Witch City Belly Dance
1:30 – 2:15 pm, Brooks Young Band
3:20 – 4:05 pm, The Othership
4:15 – 5:00 pm, Dark Follies
5:15 – 6:00 pm, Poppa Cigar

Artists’ Row
1:00 – 1:30 pm, Olivia Gale
2:15 – 3:00 pm, The Whiskey Sippers
3:00 – 4:00 pm, Right Mix Quartet
4:00 – 5:00 pm, JAMINIC
5:00 – 6:00 pm, Art Attack

Old Town Hall Upstairs
2:30 – 3:15 pm, History Alive!
4:00 – 4:30 pm, Brady Kenny O’Brien Academy of Irish Dance
4:55 – 5:15 pm, Aurora Borealis Dance Company

Sunday June 7th – Gallery, Street Fair, and Art-Making – 11 am to 6 pm

Derby Square
11:30 am – 12:15 pm, Strange Interlude
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm, Pete and Chris Amusements
1:00 – 1:45 pm, The Coteries
2:00 – 4:00 pm, Linda Peck, around Old Town Hall
2:00 – 2:45 pm, True Monks
3:15 – 4:00 pm, Jumpin’ Juba
4:15 – 5:00 pm, Absolute Gentleman
5:15 – 6:00 pm, Machine 475

Artists’ Row
12:15 – 1:00 pm, Carubia Brass Bands
1:30 – 2:00 pm, 1+1
2:15 – 2:45 pm, The Ridiculous Project
2:45 – 3:15 pm, Jennifer Evans
3:15 – 3:30 pm, “Up”: A Play by Michael Jaros
4:00 – 4:45 pm, The High Meadow Howlers
4:50 – 5:10 pm, Christopher Noran

Old Town Hall Upstairs
2:45 – 3:05 pm, Jackie Bowden

*All times are approximate and subject to change.

Mid 60s temperatures and partly to mostly sunny days are in the forecast for the Salem Arts Festival . We invite you to bring the entire family for a most entertaining and enlightening day.

(Photo courtesy John Andrews at Social Palates)

What is Art? Salem Arts Festival Provides Answers

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May 312015

Is art “either a plagiarist or a revolutionary” (as artist Paul Gauguin once stated) or is it “filling a space in a beautiful way” (artist Georgia O’Keeffe)? Art is many things to many people. You will experience that next weekend (June 5-7) when the 7th annual Salem Arts Festival rolls out across Salem Ma.

Let’s go to an unbiased source, the Oxford Dictionary, where art is defined as “The expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting, drawing, or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

Then add dance, theatre, film, music, photography, and even knitting. Now you have the palette from which the Salem Arts Festival is drawn.

The SAF seeks & presents art and performance for the sophisticated art patron as well as for the art novice. And this especially includes interactive activities for children. This is a family-friendly event which annually attracts 5000 attendees.

The Salem Arts Festival schedule includes The Gallery, performances, Street Fair, and art-making activities all to be found within easy walking distance of each other at Old Town Hall, Derby Square, Front Street, and Artists’ Row.

What is your definition of art? Will it alter or be reinforced after attending the Salem Arts Festival?

The SAF promotes the arts in downtown Salem through this festival for residents and visitors by providing opportunities to highlight the existing artist community and encouraging general community participation in the arts.

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets and a collaboration of Salem organizations which provide support for the festival, including the City of Salem, Salem State University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem Arts Association and Creative Salem.

Photo Credit – Social Palates

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