volunteer – Page 6 – Salem Main Streets

Open Invitation to Join YOUR Salem Main Streets

Contests, New Businesses, Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

Feb 212015

There are many exciting things happening behind the scenes at Salem Main Streets, and we want to bring them to light. So——

You are invited!

Please join us for Salem Main Streets’ Annual Meeting

Tuesday, February 24, 2015
5:30 pm to 7 pm
at the Salem Five Community Room, 210 Essex Street

– Celebrate Salem Main Streets’ (SMS) achievements over the past year
– Learn more about SMS mission and goals for the coming year
– Enjoy an evening with SMS supporters, volunteers, committee members, and constituents

Free
Cash bar and light refreshments
Open to all who live, work, and play in downtown Salem

Explains Kylie Sullivan, SMS Manager, “For many nonprofits, ‘annual meetings’ are primarily a function of the board and those concerned with the administration and governance of the organization. We are throwing the doors wide open for this meeting – inviting all our board and committee members, volunteers, downtown businesses, partners, sponsors, residents, municipal officials and employees, you name it. The message we want to send is that this is YOUR Main Streets and that everyone who cares about the downtown community should feel invested in the operation of Main Streets.”

Frankly no one can remember the last time Main Streets held an annual meeting. It’s time! We have so many great achievements to celebrate and recognize. Yes, we are talking about the Volunteer Booth, and the Farmers’ Market and the Holiday Tree— and so many more. And we are talking about you!

“We have so many great partners involved with Main Streets,” continues Kylie, “and we want them to be able to understand how their contribution fits into the larger Main Streets picture. Many of our partners and volunteers may only be involved with just one part of Main Streets (the info booth, the Farmers’ Market, Salem’s So Sweet) and they don’t really know how it connects to the larger mission and goals for SMS.”

To that end, while there will be a “speaking” portion of the meeting, it will be noticeably short; greater focus will be devoted on mingling with each other and visiting “stations” manned by committee members around the room to learn more about the different aspects of Main Streets and give feedback.

Consider this is to be more an interactive ongoing conversation, rather than a passive presentation.

We look forward to seeing you and listening to your input, and hopefully your participation sometime during the next year with one (or more) of our projects.

(Photo courtesy of Social Palates is of the Hula Art Project, an example of “board and committee members, volunteers, downtown businesses, partners, sponsors, residents, municipal officials and employees,” working together)

So, Anything Going On This Week in Salem Ma?

Haunted Happenings, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News No Responses »

Oct 012014

Step right up, though this may not be the “greatest show on Earth,” Salem Ma does try its best to give residents, North Shore neighbors and visitors the most for their time & money spent here during the month of October. Just this week we are opening our Info Booth to be staffed with ambassadors of goodwill to assist fun-seekers and officially kicking off festivities with the Chamber of Commerce 19th Annual Haunted Happenings Grand Parade, as well as once again launching the Mayor’s Night Out and Trick or Treat with the Mayor events.

Practically speaking there are more activities scheduled for the first three days of October than we have room for in this blog. We suggest you look at the calendar information supplied by at least these three great community websites. Mix and match the information.

Specifically we would like to point out that:

The 19th Annual Haunted Happenings Grand Parade, presented by the Salem Chamber of Commerce steps off Thursday, Oct. 2nd at 6:30pm. This year’s parade theme is “Fantasy.” Children from grade school through high school and perhaps a big kid or two from college will march through our streets in costume as a tip of the hat to all the activities to follow this month. The spotlight, though, is where it should be, on the young people who keep Halloween alive with their imagination.

The Mayor’s Night Out is Oct. 3rd and that Friday Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, in partnership with Salem’s attractions and museums, encourages Salem residents to leave their homes to sample attractions, museums and even parking (at East India Mall garage after 4 pm) free of charge! Just bring your Salem ID and be on the look-out from 3 – 10 pm for “Mayor’s Night Out” signs at participating businesses.

Trick-or-Treating with Mayor Kim Driscoll at the East India Fountain takes place from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Bring the kids, join the Mayor as the procession will Trick-or-Treat along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, The Museum Place Mall Shops, and beyond. Trick-or-Treat Bags provided. Costumes encouraged. And of course, it is another free of charge event.

Salem’s Downtown District is prepared to show you a good time this month, this 5th season of our calendar year. We welcome “kids of all ages,” to explore and be entertained.

It Waits… For You… The Info Booth

Haunted Happenings, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

Sep 292014

Hauntingly standing in and out of the shadows, the Salem Main Streets Haunted Happenings Information Booth waits patiently on the corner of Essex and Washington Streets. It waits for you.

For resident and tourist alike, young and old, American and foreign traveler, it does not discriminate in its need to feed— you information. Now that it has been dropped into place, the booth sits day and night awaiting the launch of our season of service. Volunteers will start staffing Thursday from 4:30 – 6:30 pm to coincide with the Haunted Happenings kick-off Grand Parade.

Stephanie Hagyard, a volunteer since 2008, and coordinator of this year’s SMS info team says “Our shift schedule will be 2 – 6 pm on Fridays (noon – 8 pm on Halloween), 10 am – 6 pm on Saturdays and noon – 5 pm on Sundays (might vary to 11 am on Sundays depending on staffing). The only holiday is Columbus day which will be a 10 am- 4 pm effort.”

She adds, “Most shifts are filled but there are a few dates/shifts that I would like to get a third/fourth person on- and November 1st is a new addition this year that needs people.” If you would like to volunteer, contact Stephanie at shagyard@yahoo.com.

You would become part of a community of ‘community volunteers’ who have provided direction and support to nearly 140,000 visitors since 2008. And this year with Halloween on a Friday, we can expect record numbers to cross Washington Street at Essex Street (which is the location of our booth).

Asked for advance advice to offer 10/31 visitors, Stephanie offered “Park once, wear comfy shoes, walk around, dress in layers, pay attention to your surroundings; if you are at an establishment getting lunch/dinner/coffee use the bathroom even if you don’t think you need to because who knows how long lines will be at other restrooms that are public.”

That’s the kind of straightforward, we believe useful info, you need from the booth volunteers, along with where the “witch this” and “witch that” are located.

The Info Booth beckons you….

Books to the Left & to the Right; Book Swap Time Again

Salem Event No Responses »

Sep 192014

What can you do with a book? Read it, of course. And then? Use it as a paperweight. Or use two as bookends. The city of Salem offers a more community-minded suggestion this Saturday from 10 am -1 pm with a Free Book & Media Swap at the Senior center, 5 Broad St.

But this is no ordinary book swap. Not in magical Salem. No “swap” is necessary. You can just “drop off, take away, or do both” reports Salem Recycles, our city recycling committee.

All types of books will be accepted for the swap. Plus CDs, DVDs, and VCR tapes may be thrown into the mix. And what doesn’t get swapped out will either be donated or recycled.

All in all it’s an inexpensive (read that as “free”) way for community members to share books with others who might not be able to afford them and for anyone to be able to “check out a new or unknown author” without first purchasing.

Materials for swapping should be brought with you either the day of the swap (9:45 am – noon), or if you have a lot of items (thank you), then you are welcome to drive over to the Senior Center today between 5:30 – 7 pm where volunteers will take them off your hands.

For more details, call 978-619-5679.

(Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhoto.net; border added)

Salem State University and Salem Arts Festival

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Jun 022014

Ponyfish with Priscilla Swain, SSU ’10

Many partners contribute each year to the final production that we call the Salem Arts Festival. At Salem Main Streets we appreciate each and every one of them.

Steve Jones, SSU ’14

Take for example, Salem State University. Granted SSU is not part of Salem’s Downtown district, but it is an important part of Salem. During the academic year, its creative and performing arts departments present more than 100 events on campus, all open to the public. Karen Gahagan, Director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at SSU explains, “This year dozens of Salem State visual and performing artists are bringing that creativity downtown and will be participating in the festival. They include students, faculty, staff and alumni from a range of artistic disciplines.”

Among the Salem State participants in this year ‘s festival which takes place June 6-8:

Aurora Borealis Dance Company

Aurora Borealis Dance Company is founded by Salem State dance student Katie Pustizzi. Katie is also a Presidential Arts Scholar at Salem State and was a 2014 Creativity Award winner, the highest honor Salem State bestows on a student in the arts;
Molly Pinto Madigan – Molly is a Salem State alum, class of 2013 and a 2013 SSU Creativity Award winner, in both creative writing and music. She might be providing some of her wonderful original music at the opening reception but have a chat with her about her newly published book, Black Apples: 18 New Fairytales;
YMCA Theatre Company – led by another Salem State Alum, Nicole Leotsakos ‘09, the Y’ s Performing Arts Director;
Only Human – is a musical about a small town, a movie star, humanity, death and pigs. Salem State connections include writer JD Scrimgeour (professor of English), director Peter Sampieri (professor of Theatre), musical director Karen Gahagan (Director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts), plus a cast packed with Salem State theatre students;
Chalk: A Play – This is a 10 minute play written by SSU English professor Michael Jaros, and starring SSU theatre alum Maryanne Truax ‘13 and current BFA theatre major James Wechsler, a 2014 SSU Creativity Award winner;
The Upstart Crows – a new classical theatre company based in Salem. Many of the actors are students or recent alum of Salem State University or Gordon College, as well as alumni of local theater strongholds Cry Innocent and Rebel Shakespeare. They will be performing Love’s Labour’s Lost on Salem Common each night of the festival;
Ponyfish is an acoustic trio that features Salem State alum Priscilla Swain ‘10;
Machine 475 – This group is a Salem mainstay and includes Richard Lewis, SSU professor of Art & Design, and Salem State alumni Danielle Meara ’11 and Jim Forrest ‘01
The Old Town Hall art exhibition includes works by Scott Dalrymple and Andrea Jenkins, current Salem State students and alum Steve Jones ’14, yet another SSU Creativity Award winner.

We think that Karen Gahagan put it nicely, “The Salem Arts Festival is now well-established and people recognize it as ‘our arts festival’ if one is part of the Salem community no matter what the relationship. The SAF also did an excellent job getting the call for artists out there this year which raised awareness. I think that people at Salem State and elsewhere have started to take notice of this festival and that more and more artists from all over the region will look to participate as it moves forward.”

Mark your calendar, June 6-8 downtown Salem, MA, and go Vikings!

Only Human: A Musical

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