Salem MA – Page 9 – Salem Main Streets

Holiday Artists’ Market Open Today in Nearby Salem

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News No Responses »

Nov 272016

Beautiful weather for appreciation of art in its many forms today in Salem Ma.: partly sunny with high around 45 degrees and no rain in the forecast. The Salem Arts Association is hosting a festive Holiday Artists’ Market with live music and a seasonal theme, from 10am to 5pm at Old Town Hall.

Come visit a lively market with all kinds of opportunities for our community & neighbors along the North Shore to browse and shop for treasures for self, friends and, of course, family.

The Holiday Artists’ Market will feature a variety of local artisans and crafters offering original artwork, unique gifts, and hand-made housewares to delight yourself or gift to others.

Festivities throughout the day will include live music, activities for children, and a very special visit from Queen Elsa of Arendelle (made popular in Disney’s Frozen movie)!

The Holiday Artists’ Market takes place at Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square, Salem Ma. It’s a convenient holiday shopping daytrip destination for you and your family.

And Now For Something Completely Different: Small Biz Saturday.

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Nov 262016

As different as night and day, so too are the approaches to the stressful intensity of Black Friday and the laid-back pick & choose aspect of Small Business Saturday (which takes place, Nov 26, this year.)

A large number of Salem businesses await you with specials and good deals, plus giveaways and refreshments as a way of saying thank you for patronage all year long to regular customers— and a way of greeting new customers with open arms in hopes of facilitating customer engagement.

Did you drag yourself away from Thanksgiving Dinner or from a pleasant full- stomach midnight sleep to stand in line in hopes of being among the lucky few to nab a door-buster of a deal? Feeling tired about now? Get some rest and walk– not elbow– your way into many, many stores in Salem on Saturday as they participate in Small Business Saturday.

What was created in 2010 by American Express to give a kick in the pants to a recession-suffering economy has grown into a “big deal” day with shoppers last year spending $16.2 billion at small retailers, up from $5.5 billion just three years earlier.

Reportedly, 95 million shoppers and 1.3 million retailers participated in 2015!

By supporting small business retailers on Small Business Saturday you will be participating in a local event that is at the same time being enacted in every community across America.

As they say on a TV game show, “come on down” and as an extra incentive, there is free parking at all Salem city garages, parking lots and meters today.

“Goodnight, Captain White” Needs You to Solve Mystery

History, Salem Event No Responses »

Nov 102016

Interactive theatre is the calling card of History Alive, Inc. productions, most notably Cry Innocent which you may have seen during Halloween in Salem, but also with a relatively newer production called Goodnight, Captain White. This comedy murder mystery will have its final performances of the winter season Nov. 18-20 at the historical Hawthorne Hotel.

It’s 1830. “All friends and well wishers are invited to attend” the retirement party of Captain Joseph White’s favorite ship, the Caroline. But this magnanimous invitation lures a host of enemies and ill-wishers into the perfect opportunity to murder the rich, old captain. Allegiances twist and turn. Foibles are exposed, depravities revealed.

Then it is up to the audience (that means YOU) and an under cover Daniel Webster to figure out who-dunnit and how. The creators of Cry Innocent give Salem— as odd as this sounds, but you have to be there— a crime to laugh about.

Those who love Salem history and also a good laugh will have this one more weekend to take in Goodnight, Captain White before History Alive, Inc. puts the play to bed for a long winter’s nap.

That’s correct. We said history. This tale is based upon the real-life murder of Capt. Joseph White, a 19th century shipmaster and trader from Salem, MA,

Performances of the interactive who-dunit will be in the library of the historic Hawthorne Hotel, November 18^th, 19^th and 20^th . Shows are at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday and 5:30pm on Sunday.

“We’ve had so much fun with a great, sold-out run this year, including a fund raiser for the Saltonstall School’s play ground and an immersive weekend at the gorgeous Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead,” Kristina Wacome Stevick, History Alive, Inc’s artistic director reflected. “But we’re developing a new piece, a world premier, and we want to turn our attention there for the winter.”

But what would hibernation be without a big meal beforehand? Therefore, from this late November run, $10 from each ticket will be donated to the Salem Pantry, which serves Salem’s children who struggle with food insecurity.

The November shows of Goodnight, Captain White will also feature a new performer in the ensemble, improv. comedian Zach Reynolds from Portsmouth, NH.

“Preparing for Captain White has been a high-energy, collaborative process,” he explains. “The whole cast is hilarious, and with Sarah Mann’s direction we’ve been able to make the ingenious script come to life in surprising and side-splitting ways. I’ve loved getting to know my character, Frank, and discovering how such an apparently dimwitted guy can have a duplicitous, conniving dark side.”

The play will resurface once in late June as part of Cry Innocent’s 25^th anniversary celebration, a festival which will highlight the spin-off projects and new work forged by Cry Innocent ensemble members past and present. It will then travel to Edinburgh, Scotland and the South Shore where there are additional historical connections to the story.

Tickets for the shows of Goodnight, Captain White, by Mark Stevick can be purchased at goodnightcaptainwhitehh.bpt.me.

Take a Tour of the “Other” Salem

History, Salem Event No Responses »

Nov 062016

There are tours a plenty in the night to give you a fright here in Salem, especially during Haunted Happenings, but there are more than a few by day that serve to put on display the architectural and social history of the great seaport town of Salem. For example among the tours today are:

Ropes Mansion Tours

Recognized as one of New England’s most significant and thoroughly documented historic houses, the Ropes Mansion, located at 318 Essex Street, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This Georgian Colonial, built around 1727, was home to four generations of the Ropes family. Filled with original furnishings, the Ropes Mansion contains superb examples of 18th and 19th-century furniture, ceramics and glass, silver, kitchenwares, textiles and personal objects. You can tour the house from noon to 4pm.

U.S. Custom House Tour

Take a self-guided tour through the U.S. Custom House that was built in 1819 to house the offices of the U.S. Customs Service. During the height of Salem’s East Indies trade, the Customs Service in Salem collected millions of dollars in taxes on incoming cargo. These taxes provided vital financial support for the new United States government. For three years this building was the workplace of the famous American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s experiences during his stint in the Custom House inspired his most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter.

While the 1-2pm tour is free, reservations are required. Please call 978-740-1650 or visit the Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street on the day of your visit to make a reservation

Derby and Narbonne House Tour

This tour, presented by the National Park Service, is a ranger-led program that leads visitors through two distinct historic homes. The Derby House, constructed in 1762 was the first home of Elias Hasket and Elizabeth Crowninshield Derby. It is an exemplary example of a wealthy merchant’s Georgian home and is furnished to reflect the Derbys’ 20-year long residence in the house. The Narbonne House, built in 1675, spans nearly 300 years of history as a home of successful businessmen and their families. The Narbonne House is unfurnished and contains displays of some of the nearly 150,000 archaeological artifacts excavated from the home’s backyard.

While the 2:30-3:30pm tour is free, reservations are required. Please call 978-740-1650 or visit the Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street on the day of your visit to make a reservation.

No Trick, Salem Treats You to a Halloween PARTY!

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Oct 272016

Halloween is no longer just for kids and adults with kids. October 31st in Salem Ma has had a tradition of proving just that. This year, even being on a Monday night, we expect record crowds of adults to converge on Washington Street like a horde of zombies for completion of our month-long Haunted Happenings celebration.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) “Millennial consumers (ages 18-34) are now the most likely of all adult generations to participate in Halloween. They’re also one of the top spenders on Halloween costumes, spending an average $42.39 compared with $31.03 for all adults.”

This youthful population segment has big plans for those costumes too: their intent to attend parties is up 10.9% from 2006, reports the NRF.

Winifred Sanderson: Sisters, All Hallow’s Eve has become a night of frolic, where children wear costumes and run amok!

Sarah: Amok! [dances around] Amok, amok, amok, amok, amok.

And… that brings us back to Salem Ma. We are having a party. Millennials and every other older generation are invited but we want this night of fun and frolic to be a safe one.

This is a link to Halloween Night’s Be Smart, Be Safe, Have Fun suggestions flyer that we urge you to read and make use of. Simple advice is offered, such as if you have to drive here, park someplace else, like Beverly or Danvers. Don’t bring liquor. Don’t bring real swords. Don’t bring fake swords or anything that looks like a weapon. They WILL BE confiscated.

The second part of the flyer has the day & evening festivities schedule, from Shock Top Beer Garden, ( 21+) on Federal St. at Washington Street, to all the different bands at various locations in the Downtown District, to the 10:15pm Halloween Finale Fireworks at Washington Street & Bridge Street.

After the closing fireworks show, please be respectful as you leave town. You may not know this but many parts of the Downtown District are residential. There are people trying to get some sleep because they ARE going to work Tuesday. That brick structure you are leaning up against may look like an empty office building, but it is really a refurbished apartment complex.

And if you are using social media to share with all your friends not lucky enough to be here, consider using the tags #SalemMA and @hauntdhappnings in your pictures & tweets.

Have a great time, we made this party for you!

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