Salem Festivals – Page 28 – Salem Main Streets

Sizing Up Salem This Sunday – 3 Diverse Events

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Sep 142014

What can we tell you that has not been said previously? Salem thy name is diversity. Yes, we are world-famous for our month-long Haunted Happenings festival of events for Halloween. But on any weekend day, there is much more than monsters and mayhem. For example, on Sunday you can check out three special events spotlighting spice, steampunk and cars

Spice, as you may or may not know played a major role in Salem’s early seafaring history and it revisits our city this weekend for the Salem Spice Festival 2014 at Pioneer Village.

Spices, herbs and teas will be explored in culinary and medicinal usage to spotlight Salem’s long and fascinating history with exotic spices from around the world.

As always with most festivals in Salem, there will be arts and crafts, food, demonstrations, live music, lectures, workshops and storytelling featured as well. Salem Food Tours had a very nice photo essay of yesterday’s activities on their Facebook page.

This is a ticket free event (but they won’t turn away a donation). For more info on Pioneer Village at Forest River Park call 978-744-8815 or write to info@pioneervillagesalem.org .

Photo courtesy Social Palates

Steampunk is a grand perception of the future from a point in the Victorian past; science fiction dealing with 19th-century societies dominated by historical or imagined steam-powered technology. But the concept jumped off the written page to become a style of life for followers. It influences their art, fashion, music, jewelry and so forth.

The Salem Arts Association is showcasing “Gears, Grit and Gaslights: Steampunk in Salem,” a juried art show running now through to Sept. 28th on Artists Row, New Derby St.

Special juror for this show will be Victorian Lady Lisa, known locally and nationally for her Cape Ann cable TV show, All things Victorian and her book, International Steampunk Fashions. She is currently writing a second book on Victorian/Edwardian fashion. A third book, with steampunk designer/model phenom Karo, is also being planned.

Cars— fast ones, pretty ones, and perhaps a strange one or two will be parked along the Essex St Pedestrian Mall walkway on Sunday for your visual delight. The Village Tavern will be hosting its 1st Annual Antique Auto Show, featuring North Shore Old Car Club members displaying “styling” antique cars.

From noon to 5 pm you can look under the hood (sorry, no kicking of tires) and chat with owners who love their antique cars. There will be live music by the Olde Village Fountain and all proceeds raised will be donated to the Salem Veteran’s Services.

See, Salem is not just a bunch of hocus pocus…

It Won’t Ruin Your Supper– Have Another Ice Cream in Salem!

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Aug 042014

Time to steel yourself for possible brain freeze! Ice cream galore will flow on the Salem Common Tuesday, Aug. 5th from 6 pm – 7:30 pm. Ice Scream Bowl 2014 returns as part of the year’s Heritage Days Festival.

Always a favorite among the youth of Salem, the ice cream lines fill up quickly and have been known to stretch back several hundred people in length.

For the price of admission ($5 for adults and $3 for children), you will be given a ticket that is the key to going down aisles which lead to booths where some very nice local merchants have set up shop to give you a free sample of their ice cream. That’s right, one sample from each participant!

No need to feel bad about consuming all that ice cream. According to IceCream.com, the U.S. enjoys an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country.

Participating will be:

Orange Leaf Salem, MA

Maria’s Sweet Somethings

The Salem Screamery

E.W. Hobbs

Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream

Cherry Farm Creamery

Mix 104.1

A spoon and napkin will be supplied with the purchase of a ticket. There will also be free face painting for kids and music by DJ Doug.

Trivia Question: What are the top 10 ice cream consuming countries? Don’t peek. Answers.

This is a fundraiser for Salem Main Streets, a non-profit organization; tickets are purchased on site on the day of this special event which is in keeping with our goal of revitalizing downtown Salem as a vibrant year-round retail, dining, and cultural destination. Salem Main Streets also organizes the Salem Farmers’ Market, Salem Arts Festival, and other events in downtown Salem.

The Ice Scream Bowl is coordinated in partnership between Salem Main Streets and the City of Salem as part of Salem Heritage Days, a 10 day event to celebrate the people of Salem.

For any other questions or comments regarding this event, please contact Kylie Sullivan at Salem Main Streets at (978) 744-0004 x15 or email at kylie@salemmainstreets.org.

Do We Know How to Party in Salem?

Salem Festivals No Responses »

Jul 302014

Of course we do — when was the last time you saw a one day festival around here? And the upcoming Heritage Days celebration of “yesterday & today” runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, proving our point. When we want to share the fun and food of our community with friends, neighbors and tourists, we make it last.

“Heritage Days has been a long standing tradition in Salem and this year we have ten days of fun-filled events,” comments Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. “With almost 40 different activities to choose from, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Come join us as we celebrate Salem being such a great place to live, work, and visit.”

In the coming days Salem Main Streets (as well as every other local organization with a mission to promote Salem) will be advising you of the highlights of Heritage Days. For now let’s just point out the “perks” of actually living here (in other words proof of residency gets you the following…):

The Peabody Essex Museum and the Salem Witch Museum are always free to Salem residents.

The Salem Trolley is free to Salem residents through September 30, 2014. Residents can receive a Resident Ticket by providing proof of residency at the Trolley Depot (8 Central Street). Resident Tickets are only available at the Trolley Depot and cannot be purchased on the Trolley itself. The trolley runs daily 10 am – 5 pm.

The Salem Ferry offers 20% discount plus $5 off for Salem residents on their round-trip Salem Ferry ticket.

The Witch House will be free to Salem residents during Heritage Days.

Pioneer Village will be free to residents on Saturday August 2nd.

Forest River Pool—- Red, White and Blue Blowout, Tuesday, August 6th from 6 pm – 8 pm. It’s July 4th in August! Salem residents wear your red, white and blue to the pool and participate in themed games and activities. (the pool is only open to Salem residents).

And that’s not even counting the fun to come, including some of Salem Main Streets’ own interactive ticketed events like Mayor’s Night Out and Ice Scream Bowl! Stay tuned!

Puzzled As To What To Do?

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Jul 292014

Puzzles to the right, puzzles to the left. It’s a puzzling sight. This Friday through Sunday, Aug. 1-3, the Hawthorne Hotel will be THE meeting place for the 12th annual Puzzle Parley.

What is a Puzzle Parley? Since 1994, the Puzzle Parley has brought together people passionate about jigsaw puzzles. Anyone interested in making, collecting, assembling, displaying, discussing, or buying and selling jigsaw puzzles, whether young or old, new or veteran, is invited to attend and participate. Registration is required, check out their website for full details.

These are the firm, wood-cut puzzles rather than the die-cut cardboard type.

According to the National Museum of Play, around 1760, English mapmaker John Spilsbury pasted one of his maps to a board, cut around the borders, and created the first jigsaw puzzle. The first American puzzles appeared around 1850 and in 1908 Parker Brothers introduced its Pastime puzzles, featuring pieces cut as animals, letters, and geometric shapes.

At the 12^th Parley, there will be a special workshop for beginner puzzle cutters, as well as plans for a tour of the First Church of Salem, with special attention to the Parker family stained glass window and its game symbolism. Plus, a panel “How to sell puzzles in the Internet Age, ” a session on restoration, and a session on puzzle box repair.

Why hold this popular event at the Hawthorne? Bob Armstrong, one of the founders of the Parley explained “We’ve had several locations over the years. But we liked the ambiance of the Hawthorne Hotel. It is not a modern ultra sterile building. It has an old-fashioned decor that goes well with vintage puzzles.”

New this year, though, is a Sunday Puzzle Fair. Armstrong explains “Traditionally our meetings concluded with table sales. But we added Sunday 1-3 pm segment to the Parley, free of charge and open to the general public,” to open up the viewing potential.

See both new and vintage wooden jigsaw puzzles.
Peruse the history of jigsaw puzzle cutting.
Sit down, relax and try your hand at assembling different types of wooden jigsaw puzzles.
Chat with other jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts.

Several puzzle cutters and sellers from all over the country who are attending the Parley will be displaying their works. There will be puzzles for sale and exhibits that show the history and diversity of high-end wooden jigsaw puzzles.

Sounds like a typical, change of pace Salem Ma event.

Contest Looking to Grow New Crop of Window Boxes

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Jul 212014

Photo Courtesy of the Hawthorne Hotel

Window boxes are next up to be honored in Salem. Window boxes? Yes, the long narrow box in which flowers and other plants are grown and then placed on an outside windowsill— Salem has been holding an annual Window Box Competition since 1993. And this year is no different as Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, The Salem Beautification Committee and The Salem Garden Club have issued an invitation to residents and businesses to “help beautify our City and show off your gardening talents.”

Wood of course is the traditional material with which to build a window box, but people have used fiberglass, brick, metal, vinyl, and cellular PVC!

The simple container brings life and color to a vintage home, no matter the season. For example, in the summer go with brightly colored flowers and vegetables. But by autumn switch to small pumpkins and gourds. Definitely adds some spice to the look of the home’s exterior.

Registration concludes Wednesday, July 30, 2014. Judging will take place July 31st – August 3rd. Then the Awards Ceremony & Reception will be held during Heritage Days on Thursday, August 7th at 5:30 pm. in the garden of the Brookhouse, which is located at 180 Derby St.

For more information, rules and to register, call 978-619-5676. Or email: etalkowsky@salem.com with the subject: Window Box Registration; include your name, street address and telephone number.

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