Salem Festivals – Page 22 – Salem Main Streets

Music to Our Ears: City of Salem Jazz Appreciation Day

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Apr 012015

Providing talented students with an opportunity to perform musically at no cost to the public is the high note for the Salem Jazz & Soul Festival organization. And no where is that so obvious than during the City of Salem Jazz Appreciation Day, April 4 from 2-4 pm.

Performing this year will be the North Shore Jazz Project All Stars, a big band composed of the North Shore’s premier high school-aged jazz musicians, directed by professional saxophonist Mike Tucker.

Larry Claflin Jr., the festival’s executive director offers some extra insight, “The NSJP All Stars played our main festival last year, and the crowd was blown away by their talent, so we thought we’d invite them back to be featured at Jazz Appreciation Day.”

The event, which kicks off Jazz Appreciation month, is produced in partnership with the City of Salem. Salem Five, a major festival sponsor, has donated the performing space in the Salem Five Community Room at 210 Essex Street on the Walking Mall.

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is a nonprofit organization that produces free concerts and raises money to support music-education programs on Massachusetts’ North Shore. The season lasts May through August – when SJSF puts on monthly, free concerts in partnership with Berklee College of Music – and culminates in a two-day festival at the Salem Willows in mid-August, featuring local, regional and national bands.

The SJSF/Berklee Summer Series at Derby Square, Salem, with Berklee College of Music student bands, on May 9, June 13, July 11, and Aug. 8.
The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival, a two-day concert at the Salem Willows, with 10 bands, a music-education tent, kids tent, 21-plus beer garden and artisans selling hand-made goods, Aug. 15-16.

Since 2007, SJSF has raised $50,000 for music-education causes north of Boston.

Show your support for young musicians, and be entertained at the same time. A Salem Saturday well-spent, and at no cost!

For more info visit salemjazzsoul.org.

Night at the Museum— For Real at Salem’s PEM

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Mar 222015

Over 600 people decided that what Artopia had to offer was something they wanted to experience. Thursday’s PEM/PM monthly late night party at the Peabody Essex Museum was a grand old time and if we may say, an artistic success for all the community groups that came together to create the schedule of events.

Attendees were invited to…

… contribute to a fiber arts project by knitting spring flowers with the folks from the Salem Arts Festival (a Salem Main Streets project)… sit and sketch with local group Sketch Collective… drum along with Express Yourself… catch Salem Sketches — short films created right here in Salem — which screened at recent Salem Film Fest… create your own instrument with Salem Jazz & Soul… and enjoy a 15-minute gallery experience highlighting some “ordinary” gems in the museum’s Japanese art collection.

And there was much more. Music that excited and moved the crowd from Ross Livermore Band. Front Yard Street Art, a collaborative fiber arts project open to community members and groups of all ages and abilities certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Hats off to Creative Salem, the Salem Arts Festival and, of course, the Peabody Essex Museum. Producing an event to attract over 600 people on a weeknight certainly indicates that art is not only alive & well in Salem— it also delivers an exciting environment.

(Video produced by JoeyPhoenixPhotography.com by way of CreativeSalem.com)

The Arts Are Alive, Well & Thriving in Salem – at Artopia

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Workshops 1 Response »

Mar 182015

Vibrant and creative are words to define the arts & culture scene of Salem — and those words will take physical shape this Thursday from 6-9 pm as Artopia takes over the monthly PEM/PM event, hosted by the Peabody Essex Museum.

Now, this blog may shake a little as you read it because we at Salem Main Streets are very excited about Artopia as so many local groups and festivals are involved! It is a real coming together of the community.

“The theme of this event is ‘Art in the Everyday,’ which is part of why we’re playing a lot with the creation of art and elevating ‘ordinary’ objects or activities,” reveals Kylie Sullivan, Main Streets Manager.

For example… contribute to a fiber arts project by knitting spring flowers with the folks from the Salem Arts Festival… sit and sketch with local group Sketch Collective… drum along with Express Yourself… catch Salem Sketches — short films created right here in Salem — which screened at recent Salem Film Fest… create your own instrument with Salem Jazz & Soul… and enjoy a 15-minute gallery experience highlighting some “ordinary” gems in the museum’s Japanese art collection.

For Artopia, PEM is partnering with the Salem Arts Festival and Creative Salem to super-charge this celebration. PEM/PMs are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month as a way to introduce and invite the community to utilize the resource that PEM is to the community.

Adds John Andrews of Creative Salem, “There will be roaming performance artists including members of ARTiculate this. Featured live artists will be Denny Tentindo, Ben Stebbings and Jamie O’Neil. Also at our Creative Salem table, we’ll have Allison White doing a needlepoint demo.”

The evening, as with all PEM/PM events, includes music, cocktails and conversation with separate stations for creativity. But Artopia doesn’t stop there.

Local author and meatball aficionado Adeline Myers, will discuss her recently published cookbook Global Meatballs and even prepare a couple of her favorite recipes. A well-crafted meatball can be a work of art!

Beer lovers can glean creative brewing insights from Newburyport Brewing Company and sample its locally brewed and appropriately named beers: Newburyport Pale Ale, Plum Island Belgian White and Green Head IPA.

And as they say, “that’s not all folks” as the evening will also feature North Shore-based Ross Livermore Band. A local favorite, the band has toured throughout New England and beyond and was recently nominated for Best in State in the New England Music Awards.

One other item to note, and of personal interest to those of us at Salem Main Streets and the Salem Arts Festival, is the Front Yard Street Art project.

Front Yard Street Art is a collaborative fiber arts project open to community members and groups of all ages and abilities. Create your own “green space” (field, garden plot, jungle, etc.) made of yarn, felt, fabric, and whatever else inspires you! Each piece will become part of a large-scale temporary art installation transforming Front Street during the Salem Arts Festival weekend.

Examples created by the students at the Phoenix School in Salem, will be on display Thursday evening as well.

And what is the cost of admission for this extravaganza? For PEM members and Salem residents (with ID) it is free of charge. For nonmembers, it is only $10 at the door. PEM is located at 161 Essex St., Salem Ma. For more info go to www.pem.org or call 978-745-9500.

Artopia is a most creative reason to venture out into the evening.

(Phoenix School photo courtesy Joey Phoenix)

Salem Spring Restaurant Week Serves Up Delightful Dining

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Mar 132015

“What are we going to have for dinner” will be replaced for the next two weeks in Salem Ma with “where are we going to have dinner,” as the popular Salem Spring Restaurant Week is served up March 15-19 and again March 22-26.

Long noted for attractions and history, Salem is coming into its own also as a foodie destination with a diverse menu of traditional and ethnic flavors among our restaurants. And as a way of thanking regular patrons and inviting new ones, Salem restaurants are offering either a two-course prix-fixe dinner menu for $18, or a three-course prix-fixe dinner menu for $28, or both (price does not include drinks, taxes or gratuities).

Many of the prix-fixe menus include multiple choices for appetizers, entrees and desserts.

The Salem Chamber of Commerce, which serves as the voice for member businesses, represents, advocates and works to enhance the business and civic environment. To that end, it produces these restaurant weeks in March and November.

There is a Facebook page, and the Chamber also provides links to special menus for this occasion.

As of this writing, participating dining destinations for your epicurean delight are:

62 Restaurant and Wine Bar
62 Wharf Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-0062
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Adriatic Restaurant and Bar
155 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 594-1832
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Bella Verona
107 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 825-9911
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Finz Seafood & Grill
76 Wharf Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-0000
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Firenze Trattoria
2 Lynde Street, Salem, MA – (978) 594-1188
Offering a Three-Course Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Koto Grill & Sushi Lounge
90 Washington Street , Salem, MA – (978) 594-8681
Offering a Three-Course Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Naumkeag Ordinary
118 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-4968
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Opus
87 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-9600
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Regatta Pub at the Waterfront Hotel
225 Derby Street, Salem, MA – (978) 740-8788
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Rockafellas
231 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-2411
Offering both a Two-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $18 and a Three Course Menu for $28

Salem Beer Works
278 Derby Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-2337
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Scratch Kitchen
245 Derby St, Salem, MA – (978) 741-2442
Offering a Two-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $18

Thai Place
Museum Place Mall, Salem, MA – (978) 741-8008
Offering both a Two-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $18 and a Three-Course, Menu for $28

Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall
43 Church Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-7665
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Victoria Station & Vic’s Boathouse
86 Wharf Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-3400
Offering a Three-Course, Prix-Fixe Dinner Menu for $28

Village Tavern
168 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-2858
Offering a Three-Course, Prixe-Fixe Dinner Menu for $18 *special pricing*

You will be treated to a wide variety of delicious foods – from steak to seafood, American to ethnic, there is something for everyone. Reservations are encouraged, therefore the Chamber of Commerce advises that you contact the restaurants directly. Please mention “Restaurant Week” when making your reservations.

And don’t forget, save room for the dessert!

March Meatball Madness — Where Else But Salem!

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Mar 062015

Meatballs are globally loved as local author Adeline Lutts Myers discovered and uncovered for her new cookbook Global Meatballs. In celebration of her work, several of Salem’s finest restaurants are cooking up a foodie event Meatball Fest, March 5-12.

Meatballs get a slot in the Salem festival calendar? Those simple things where you take ground beef, add some spices, roll it and cook it? Yes, but what kind of meat and which spices? And can you substitute anything else for beef? Do you fry or bake, or use another method? As the author learned, each country rolls differently with its native recipes.

“In writing the book,” she reveals in her blog, Kitchen Roots, “we wanted a representative group of meatballs from around the globe. I ended up with recipes from over 40 countries and cultures. In doing the research some were easier to nail down than others.”

Here in Salem on March 5-12 you will find these special meatball related recipes/offerings at:

Adriatic Restaurant and Bar (call for specific menu offering)
Bella Verona (the delicious PolpiteVeal Meatballs baked with penne as well as Lasagne w/polpettine small meatballs)
Cilantro (Albondigas al Chipotle – Cheese stuffed meatballs cooked in a spicy smoked chipotle sauce)
Finz Seafood & Grill (traditional style meatballs using ground beef, pork, and turkey; roasted, then smothered and baked with marinara sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese)
Firenze (call for specific menu offering)
Nathaniel’s at the Hawthorne Hotel (assorted meatballs, with appropriate sauces and or garnishes such as roasted chicken‬ & spinach meatball; beef, arugula & portabella meatballs; and chicken with ‪chorizo‬ sausage, Jalapeño-jack cheese, ‪bacon‬ and cilantro)
Opus (call for specific menu offering)
Peabody Essex Museum’s Garden Restaurant (Greek-style lamb meatball with feta cheese, spinach, tomato, mint, oregano and olives, served with a roasted pepper and tomato chutney)
The Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel (Appetizer‬: ‪‎Buffalo chicken‬ meatballs, stuffed with blue cheese, served with hot sauce and sour cream dips with blue cheese stuffed celery. ‎Entrée‬: Fresh ‪‎mozzarella‬ and basil stuffed meatballs, spaghetti, marinara sauce and shredded parmesan cheese)

In addition, there will be a book signing with the author on Sunday, March 8th from 1 – 3 pm at Wicked Good Books, 215 Essex Street, here in Salem. You’ll get the chance to ask for her favorites, and share your thoughts.

Whether you favor a spicy meatball, a soft or bread crumb encrusted type, swimming in a sauce or standing alone, or even meatless, Global Meatballs by Adeline Lutts Myers will tantalize your literary tastes, while Salem’s restaurants will do the same for your taste buds.

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