volunteer – Page 8 – Salem Main Streets

Salem- A “Must See” Stop For A Different Holiday Season

Dec 012013

December is here, and so begins the “other” celebration season for which Salem is gaining a reputation. Salem Ma? Ground zero to spook central, as some have called us, becomes a tourist attraction for all things relating to a warm & toasty family holiday? Yes Virginia, there is another Salem.

We will begin with Historic Salem Inc which presents one of many must-see events to be highlighted over the next few weeks: The Christmas In Salem House Tour.

Let their own words describe this favorite event of locals and tourists:

“Few communities have the rich legacy of historic houses that Salem, Massachusetts boasts. These homes, spanning four centuries, help define the character as well as the appearance of the city, and every year some of their owners invite visitors in to view their homes decked out in full holiday regalia, with the help of professional decorators and florists.”

Here is a peek at last year’s tour.

The 34th annual Christmas in Salem House Tour, Dec. 6-8, will focus this year on “Ports of Call In the Historic Derby Waterfront District” featuring nine homes.

TOUR DETAILS

Friday Night Candlelight Preview Tour, Dec. 6, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; for advance ticket holders only
Saturday, Dec. 7, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 8, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

HIGHLIGHTS

Historic homes, decorated for the holidays by local designers, florists and garden clubs.
Friday night Candlelight Tour of selected houses
Complimentary Salem Trolley Service
Restaurant, Shopping and Attractions Discounts
A Holiday Concert
A historic Derby Street walking tour with Jim McAllister on Saturday morning
Wine Tastings at Salem Wine Imports
A spice tasting at the Picklepot with Salem Food Tours

Historic Salem, Inc. is celebrating its 68th year as the city’s preeminent preservation group. Christmas in Salem is its primary fundraiser, and a significant portion of the proceeds will support the interior restoration of the Nathaniel Bowditch house as well as community and educational programming through the year.

For more information, please contact Historic Salem, Inc. at 978-745-0799 or info@historicsalem.org.

TY, Thanx, Thank you

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Nov 102013

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. (Marjorie Moore, Minds Eye Information Service, Belleville, IL, USA

Contributions made by area volunteers at various Salem sites were spotlighted recently at a Volunteer Appreciation Party held at the National Park Service Visitor Center.

Salem Main Streets partnered with the City of Salem, National Park Service, and Destination Salem to honor the over 100 wonderful volunteers from the October Information Booth, the “Shutdown Booth” and the Salem Farmers’ Market. Speakers at the event included (pictured) Kate Fox of Destination Salem, Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, Kylie Sullivan of Salem Main Streets and Jonathan Parker of the National Park Service. (photo by Karen Scalia)

Besides “thank you’s” being handed out, we also had a number of “fun facts” to share that night.

The Salem Farmers’ Market served over 37,000 shoppers, the Shutdown Booth helped over 13,000 people, and our own Info Booth responded to multiple questions posed by more than 25,000 visitors.

Being a volunteer is a win-win-win situation here in Salem. You are helping your community. You are helping people from outside the community better understand Salem. And you are making yourself feel good about sharing your spare time.

And as a further thank you, local restaurants generously donated fantastic food for the event, creating quite the spread! Donating restaurants included Adriatic Restaurant & Bar, Caffe Graziani, Capt’s Waterfront Grill & Pub, Finz, Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, Life Alive, Opus, Salem Waterfront Hotel, Village Tavern, and Victoria’s Station.

Don’t ever question the value of volunteers. Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals. (Dave Gynn, Coleman Professional Services, Ohio, USA )

What Do We Do For An Encore?

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Nov 022013

What makes Salem the great place it is to live and work in is that there is always something going on that is different than what just finished. Point in fact, we just closed out the craziness of Haunted Happenings. Before the dust settles we shift to the serenity of fine dining and the casualness of shopping at a winter market.

Beginning Sunday Nov. 3 through Thursday Nov. 7th and repeating the following week Nov 10-14, the 7th annual Salem Fall Restaurant Week offers an invitation to residents, and anyone within driving distance along the North Shore.

Participating Salem restaurants (over 20 at this point) will offer either a prix-fixe two-course dinner menu for $18 or a prix-fixe three-course dinner menu for $28. Some restaurants will offer both course options. Prices are per person and exclude beverages, tax, and gratuity. This event is sponsored by the Salem Chamber of Commerce. Check their website or their blog for an updated list of participating restaurants, menus and offerings.

But what if you are the master chef— your family the only regular customers? Then we have a supply of fresh products for your table, beginning Nov. 7th when the Salem Winter Market opens its doors in Old Town Hall.

It will include produce from local farms, pasture-fed meat, spices, pickles, soup, baked goods, artisan soap, jewelry, wreaths, and more. All items are grown or produced in New England.

“The Winter Market is a fantastic opportunity to support local farms and artisans through the holiday season,” states Kylie Sullivan, manager of Salem Main Streets and organizer of the market. “We’re very excited to showcase so many summer farmers’ market favorites as well as some new vendors in this historic space.”

Current vendors at the 2013 Winter Market include:

Farm Vendors (produce): Clark Farm, Grant Family Farm, Long Hill Orchard & Farm, Wally’s Vegetables

Non-Farm Vendors (not produce): Big Sky Bakery (bread), Fishwives Specialty Foods/Mandy’s Seafood Chowder (chowder), Piper Ranch (meat), Salem Spice (spices, also selling Maitland Mountain Farm’s pickles), Valicenti Organico (pasta/sauces), Wolf Meadow Farm (cheese)

Artisan Vendors: Salem Soapworks, Shine Jewelry/Heritage Industries

This list is still subject to growth.

The Market will run six weeks on Thursdays from 3 – 6 p.m., Nov.7 through Dec. 19. There will be no Market the week of Thanksgiving. Old Town Hall is adjacent to Derby Square where the Summer Farmers’ Market is held.

The market is made possible through the generous support of Mayor Kimberley Driscoll and the City of Salem, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, and Mass in Motion Salem, as well as numerous volunteers. The market participates in the SNAP program and will accept the EBT card at the market.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Manager, at 978-744-0004 or kylie@salemmainstreets.org, or visit http://salemmainstreets.org/salem-winter-market/ . You can also follow Salem Main Streets on Facebook and Twitter to keep current on Winter Market news.

The Party Is Over….. Maybe…

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Nov 012013

It’s close to midnight….. and something evil’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight …..you see a sight that almost stops your heart

Setting aside the eerie sights that these lyrics evoked in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” in Salem these lyrics highlight the sights from last night as thousands upon thousands of humans, demons and whatevers (see the fellow to the below/ right) celebrated Halloween 2013.

Then magically and orderly disappeared. Poof.

We won’t have the numbers for a few days, but it was crowded.

Visitors and locals, having a good time, then hopefully in the days to come telling friends & families about what Haunted Happenings is all about in Salem, MA. Friendly folks, shocking scares, dandy deals, and fabulous food. Glad you had a good time!

We want to take a moment to thank all our great Salem Main Streets volunteers who gave of their time and energy. But also this year to the community members who came through for the Destination Salem “Shutdown” table when it was needed. And to the city workers involved in Haunted Happenings from the beginning to the middle to the end. As well as law enforcement for making it a safe evening.

Plus thanks to the Attractions & Downtown Merchants for getting involved in this crazy time and each in their own way contributed to the atmosphere of Haunted Happenings 2013.

BUT— unlike the werewolf who crawls out only with the full moon or the vampire who only rises at night, Salem has a life beyond the framework of October. Come back and visit us another time; as one local blogger has pointed out, Salem just loves its multi-day festivals. From Haunted Happenings to Heritage Days to restaurant week (next week!) to Salem So Sweet, our Downtown merchants strive to be your year ’round destination.

You can be strange, just don’t be a stranger.

Wanted: Ambassadors To Share Salem

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Sep 082013

September means many things to people along the North Shore, but here in Salem it foretells the approach of October and our month-long celebration of all things Halloween-related.

As Salem prepares for its busy October tourist season, residents are invited to help people who come to the Witch City that month make the most of their visit.

“Salem Main Streets is recruiting 60 – 80 volunteer ambassadors to staff the downtown information booth during October weekends and Halloween day itself; the booth is located at the Essex Street pedestrian mall,” announces Judy Kearney, co-coordinator (along with Mira Riggin) of the SMS booth project. The ambassadors will hand out maps to tourists and provide them with information about Salem’s attractions, businesses and October events.

She adds, “There is also a particular need for multilingual ambassadors to assist international visitors.”

Each volunteer ambassador will be asked to commit to two, two-hour shifts and to complete a training program scheduled for 9:30am on September 21 at the National Park Service Regional Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty Street.

The downtown information booth operates each year in October and last year assisted more than 27,500 visitors.

For more information or to become a volunteer ambassador, email Judy Kearney at judykearney830@gmail.com, Mira Riggin at mriggin2@comcast.net, or call Salem Main Streets at 978 744-0004.

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