Uncategorized – Page 23 – Salem Main Streets

Bring Your Bike To Salem

May 152014

Bicyclists may outnumber pedestrians and motorists in Salem Ma this Thursday from 6-9pm as the Peabody Essex Museum presents Free Wheeling: Bike Night as the next entry in the PEM/PM monthly evening party series.

Bike enthusiasts will mingle & network as they celebrate the art, design and style of the bicycle with music, art making, food, cocktails and conversation. These are the staples of PEM evening series.

And for this particular night, The Peabody also encourages B.Y.O.B. — bring your own bike!

According to the 2012 National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes and Behaviors, 18 percent of the population age 16 or older, rode a bicycle at least once during the summer of 2012. The same survey also reported the average length of a bicycling trip taken on a typical day during the summer was 65.2 minutes.

We bring this up because with temperatures rising, more people will be hitting the road on their own or as part of a bike club. This PEM experience will give them the opportunity to “see decked out art bikes, meet folks from the area’s bike scene, help create an interactive biking map and add a little bling to your own two wheels.”

Featured PEM/PM guests include:

Bikes Not Bombs — Based in Jamaica Plain, this organization shares how to use the bicycle as a vehicle for social change.

SCUL — A bike chopper gang based out of Somerville brings sculpted cycle masterpieces and tall bikes to Salem. The group has appeared on the PBS show Design Squad.

Salem Bike Path Committee — Members share their favorite bike routes and information about Salem Spins, a bike share program.

Forrest James — an American dreamwave recording artist, producer, composer and DJ provides live music.

Local bike shops demonstrate how to fix a flat and provide safety tips.

Cash bar and a special small plates menu from the Hawthorne Hotel will be available for purchase. This month’s PEM/PM is sponsored by MINI of Greater Boston. For more information, visit www.pem.org.

Small Business is a Big Deal

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May 112014

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year— that is according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. A fact not lost in Salem where everywhere you look in our Downtown District is a successful, charming, eclectic owner-operated small business.

To recognize the economic and social contributions of such entrepreneurs across America, the SBA is holding its annual National Small Business Week, May 12-16.

Activities will include forums and panels discussing trends in small business, business innovation, financing, growth, matchmaking events, as well as networking opportunities and award ceremonies. Among the major cities participating is Boston.

To coincide with NSBW here in Salem, The Enterprise Center at Salem State University is presenting two workshops.

Telephone Marketing, May 13th, 8:30-10:30am: Picking up the phone still works! North Shore area entrepreneurs starting or growing a business should pay attention. The telephone is not only one of the oldest and most reliable methods of starting and building client relationships, but according to the EC in this new digital age where people are inundated with emails, automated menus and flashy advertisements, a simple conversation from person-to-person is often more appreciated and will go a long way to serve your end needs.

Time Management, May 15th, 8:30-10:30am: It’s not about working less, it’s about maximizing your time so that productivity grows! For example, Scott Simon, a former executive chef reveals “As a former regional director, one of my goals was to decrease the amount of time my directors spent on work.” He accomplished this by making them set better goals, managing expectations, and re-focusing their priorities. “During this time, my region grew by 300% and I transitioned multiple accounts to profitability! You can get everything done, grow your business, AND have a life,” he says.

The Enterprise Center will also be serving complimentary coffee and Danish at their workshops.

And, on a national scale there will also be webinars and other live events. Many will also be live-streamed on SBA’s website at www.sba.gov.

It’s a good week to support your local entrepreneurs in Salem Ma.

A Day of Learning, A Day of Fun

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May 102014

School is in session this Saturday as Education Day breaks out all over Salem Ma. But it will be unlike anything you’ve seen before. Classes are in skin care, recycling, rope making, mixology, Farmers Market, photography and more.

The Salem Education Foundation is presenting the “2nd Annual Hats Off to Education Weekend” as a way of promoting community involvement and investment in the public schools of Salem, Ma.

The schedule as posted by SEF includes:

Workshops and Fun Activities, at Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・   The Community Development Coalition will host a bilingual scavenger hunt in Old Town Hall and visitors can take part in a session titled “Journey through the Immigrant Experience”
・   TD Bank will offer finance classes for teens and adults
・   John Andrews of Social Palates and “we_are_Salem” will offer a photography class
・   The House of The Seven Gables will offer bilingual “Dominican Tales”
・   Salem Historical Tours will speak about the city’s rich history
・   The North Shore Career Center will offer workshops on how to build a resume and find a job
・   Henry Miller’s Architecture Lab at Boston Architectural College will offer two hour long workshops on how to build a speaker for your handheld device. Space is limited for this workshop. Please register by emailing Henry.Miller@the-bac.edu
・   Additionally, children will have the opportunity to look at gemstones, learn about beekeeping, brush up on their Harry Potter facts, learn about the importance of recycling, healthy food and gardening and engage in arts activities

Free Community Read Book, Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・ The Community Advisory Board will give away copies of “The Good Thief,” written by Hannah Tinti, a Salem native. This is the book selected for the city of Salem’s first Community Read.

Activities at the Salem Common will include:
・   The Hogwarts Hustle Kids’ Fun Run at 10:30am This is a half-mile fun run for kids age 12 and under. There will also be a dash for kids 4 and under. Kids are encouraged to dress as their favorite Harry Potter characters. Finisher ribbons will be awarded to the first 100 runners
・   12 noon Basketball Tournament! Email Andre at adaley@bgcgs.org
・   Adults and children alike can have a Zumba experience with the energetic Gina Grinarml
・   Learn circuit training with Kerry Murphy
・   Play in a basketball game with Mayor Kim Driscoll
・   Hula hoop and free dance to the rhythms of Mamadou’s drummers!

Performances, at Old Town Hall, 10am – 3pm
・   The Salem High School Jazz Band
・   Destination Imagination team Challenges
・   School-age Latin and African dancers from Greg Coles and his Salsa for the Schools program
・   A theater group and other local talents

The SEF mission is to provide funding for projects that further students’ educational experiences in science, mathematics, the arts and humanities. It supports projects that go beyond the scope of those funded by the Salem Public School Department. And it works with the larger community to make schools a true community enterprise by promoting and coordinating volunteerism and participation in the schools.

Learn something and have a lot of fun.

Reaching Out to the Community After Tragic Fire

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May 072014

We discuss Salem fun activities and developments on a regular basis, but this time out, the spotlight falls on a tragic event involving an early morning house fire in our city.

In response, on Tuesday, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll posted this to her Facebook page:

As you may know, an early morning fire at 60 Dow Street has left several families in need of assistance. At present, seven units have been affected by the fire, resulting in the displacement of 45 individuals, including 16 children.

In the aftermath of the fire, which broke out early this morning (approx. 1am), the families were placed at the Council on Aging building on Broad Street with the assistance of the Red Cross. As of this afternoon, the Red Cross has provided vouchers for up to two-night stays at a local hotel and families have been transported to this location for the night.

In terms of needs, housing is the top priority at the moment and we are working with a number of organizations to help in this regard, including the Salem Housing Authority and our local Veterans Department. We are hoping that some of the units that were minimally damaged can be made habitable again within the next week, but we still expect there will be residents in need of housing. Anyone interested in renting a housing unit in Salem to one of these families should contact the Mayor’s Office at mayor@salem.com and we’ll forward your information to the prospective families.

In addition, many families lost a majority of their possessions, including clothing, furnishings and other household items. We are working to set up a fund at Salem Five Bank where charitable donations can be made to assist families financially with purchasing items they need. Anyone wishing to make a donation should make the check payable to the ‘Dow Street Fire Victims Fund’. Donations can be mailed/dropped off at Salem City Hall, Mayors Office 93 Washington Street, Salem, MA 01970.

Lastly, we are putting together a list of clothing needs for those affected and will be setting up a drop off location for a clothing drive for families. Details on the clothing needs are below.

Call for Clothes (Children and Adult size shoes, pants and shirts):
– One 6-month old
– 7 Boys & Girls 5-10 years-old
– 9 Boys & Girls 11-19 years-old
– 9 Men & Women 20-30 years-old
– 17 Men & Women 30+

As you can imagine, this has been quite traumatic for many of the folks involved and I want to recognize and thank the city departments and outside agencies who have stepped up to help out, in particular the Red Cross, who was on the scene early along with our own Salem Fire Department (great stop by our firefighters).

We have received offers of assistance from near and far – including the Governor’s Office and several local individuals – and I am hopeful that we can provide some level of assistance to those most in need. Salem is great at coming together in a time of need and we’ll provide additional updates and ways you can help over the next several days.

Wiki Spotlight on Salem’s PEM

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May 032014

Spreading the word about Salem, MA to a global audience is up to you today. The Peabody Essex Museum is holding an all day Wikipedia Edit-a-thon, 9am-5pm in the Create Space 2 area of PEM. It is open to the public and free of charge.

Native American and Chinese art collections will be the focus of the day. It will be a fun-filled event with a social purpose. And another great way to spend a Saturday in Salem doing something completely different than last week!

“We’re bringing together Wikipedia editors, museum staff and anyone interested in joining the ranks of Wikipedia’s global volunteer editor corps to share PEM’s unique resources with the world,” explains Ed Rodley in a recent Connected PEM blog.

Rodley, who is Associate Director of Integrated Media at PEM, adds “We’ll be uploading images of objects from our permanent collections, while learning how to write and edit Wikipedia articles…and meeting new friends.”

With over 4 million English language articles, Wikipedia is considered the world’s most successful online encyclopedia. Anyone with Internet access can be an editor but there are of course rules and guidelines.

Training, advice and guidance will be offered at PEM Edit-a-thon by experienced Wikipedians as well as by museum personnel.

You are advised to bring your own laptop and charger.

Lunch will be provided (pizza) plus coffee, tea and water, but you may bring your own.

For a full schedule of the day’s activities go to the PEM Edit-a-thon Wiki page where you can also sign up.

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