Jan 082014
 

Sweet deal coming up in Salem Ma! We don’t have to sugar coat this event. The next project that Salem Main Streets presents to the community is the Annual Salem So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival.

Salem So SweetThis decadent tradition of delectable chocolate, sparkling ice sculptures, chocolate sampling and Valentine’s Day shopping draws crowds from near and far.

So much so that we want to invite local businesses to take advantage of opportunities to participate in the Salem So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival; offer a promotion, sponsor an ice sculpture, or showcase food/wine at the kick-off event.

It may be cold outside but chocolate warms the heart and invites customers into stores as we head into the month of February.

  • Wine & Chocolate Tasting Kick-off Event: Friday, Feb. 7, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Colonial Hall at Rockafellas

  • Ice Sculptures around Town: Starting Feb. 8

  • Shopping Promotions, Events and The Golden Ticket Raffle: Feb. 8 – Feb. 16

  • and much more!

The application for participation  is due Friday, Jan. 10.

For more information or to participate, contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or 978.744.0004 x15.

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Jan 042014
 

Small Biz Salem genericYou have been talking about launching your own business for the last year; you’ve been dreaming about it for longer than that. We are of course biased in support of the diverse Salem Ma Downtown District as your future location. So don’t take our word for it. However, Small Business Trends has mapped out the “Top 50 Small Business Shopping Destinations to Visit” and not one but six Massachusetts communities are on it— including Salem:

… retail has become big box stores and moved to strip shopping centers and malls. But there are still communities across the United States that have thriving small business districts where local entrepreneurs abound. We’ve identified 50 of the standouts…”

While the survey may have as its purpose to give shoppers a bird’s eye view of small business friendly destinations, it is also a close-up on communities which are successful incubators for budding owners of such businesses— notably Salem Ma.

From the January 2012 report of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy:

Small businesses continue to be incubators for innovation and employment growth during the current recovery. Small businesses continue to play a vital role in the economy of the United States. They produced 46 percent of the private nonfarm GDP in 2008…”

That could be your business.

And, according to the US Census Bureau Data (2009):

There were 5.8 million employer firms in the U.S. Firms with less than 20 workers made up 89.7 percent of these businesses.”

Salem stands ready to support you. Salem Main Streets. The Salem Chamber of Commerce. The City of Salem. Destination Salem. We are rich in organizations to answer every question and help you along the way. We actively support and work with our businesses through festivals, events, and national activities such as Small Business Saturday.

And then there are the businesses along the Downtown District themselves. Best resources of info. Don’t take our word for it. 2014 is here. Resolve it’s time to stop thinking and time to act on your dream.

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Feb 132012
 

Get your tickets early next year. The Wine and Chocolate Tasting was sold out well over a week in advance this year and highlighted samplings from: 62 Restaurant and Wine Bar, Adriatic Restaurant & Bar, Ben & Jerry’s, Busa Wine and Spirits, Café Polonia, Caffe Graziani, Capt.’s Premium Steak & Seafood Grill, Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream, Finz Seafood & Grill, Green Land Café, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, Pamplemousse, Rockafellas, Salem Waterfront Hotel, Sweet Adeline’s, Thai Place, Victoria Station. and Ye Olde Pepper Co.

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Feb 122012
 

See the ice sculptures now downtown Salem as long as the weather allows. Thank you to all downtown businesses who sponsored a sculpture. Vote for your Favorite sculpture on Facebook.

 

Ice Sculptures:

1 The Friendship of Salem – sponsored by the Pickering Wharf Merchants Association, Pickering Wharf

 2 Salem Waterfront Hotel, sponsored by the Salem Waterfront Hotel, 225 Derby St

 3 We ♥ The Children of Salem – A Schoolhouse with Heart, sponsored by Sophia’s, 105 Essex St [The ice sculpture was made in celebration of the children of Salem and the bright future they have in education. Please consider making a donation during Salem’s So Sweet to the Salem Education Foundation. Donations can be dropped off at Sophia’s.]

 4 Salem Witch, sponsored by Salem Witch Museum, 19 ½ Washington Sq. N

 5 Cupid Gets Busted, sponsored by The Great Escape, (50 Saint Peter St.)

 6 Movie Projector, sponsored by Salem Film Fest (Cinema Salem, Church St.)

 7 Based on an untitled piece by Virgil Ortiz from Shapeshifting: Transformations in Native American Art Exhibition, sponsored by the Peabody Essex Museum (161 Essex St.)

 8 Dragon, sponsored by Museum Place Mall: A Sacred Place Wellness Center, Bewitched in Salem, Daily Bagel Café, Glass and Etc., Lotus Gifts, Essex’s N. Y. Deli and Pizza, Marley Properties Salem, LLC, Polonus European Deli, Salem Vintage Photography, Thai Place, Witch Tee’s (180 Essex St.)

 9 Love and Gemstones with Cupid, sponsored by Bernard’s Jewelers, (179 Essex St.)

 10 Marilyn Monroe with Champagne, sponsored by Pamplemousse, Trolley Depot, Century Bank, Salem Trolley, Mighty Aphrodite, Modern Millie, and Reds (5 Central St.) 

 11 Tin Tin (w/Snowy), sponsored by Mud Puddle Toys, (221 Essex St.)

 12 Jazzing up the Winter, sponsored by Rockafellas, (231 Essex St.)

 13 Crystal Snowflake, sponsored by Laura Lanes and New England Soup Factory (in Lappin Park)

 14 Salem State University Viking, sponsored by Salem State University (Lappin Park)

 15 Monkfish with Adriatic Wave, sponsored by Adriatic Restaurant and Bar, (155 Washington St.)

 16 Giant Frog w/ Heart, sponsored by Maria’s Sweet Somethings, (26 Front St.)

 17 The Stanley Cup – Tavern in the Square Style, sponsored by Tavern in the Square, 189 Washington St [If you missed out on taking a photo with the Stanley Cup. Come by and take a picture with the repudiate of the Lord Stanley Cup.]

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Feb 072012
 

Looking for something to do with your signifiant other to celebrate Valentine’s Day… Enjoy the Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate and Ice Sculpture Festival. It starts Friday night with a sold out Wine and Chocolate Event and continues on Saturday with 17 beautiful ice sculptures filling the downtown. There are numerous opportunities to sample chocolate, shopping discounts and much more.

Some event highlights include:

Clifford the Big Red Dog Saturday in Old Town Hall from 11 -5.
Violin Music at the new J’Adore Romantic Gift Shop on Derby Square 11 -2
En Amour Latin Dance at RedLulu on Sunday presented by the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival
Make your own Valentine at Mud Puddle Toys 12 – 3 Sat. and Sun. for kids

Some businesses are staring early:

February 9:
 Cafe Graziani is having  a five course wine dinner paired with Italian Wine to celebrate 10 years of wine dinners.
J. Mode has a ladies night with Jenny Johnson champagne and chocolates and more.

For romance on the rocks see Salem Theatre Company’s production of Tom Stoppard’s THE REAL THING.

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