Uncategorized – Page 30 – Salem Main Streets

TY, Thanx, Thank you

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 )

PEM Creatively Celebrates The Future

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Nov 092013

Point to one store, one attraction that proudly proclaims that there is life in Salem before, during and after Halloween and you would be looking at the Peabody Essex Museum. This is not your grandparents type of museum, nor most likely your parents. It is a vibrant, enticing, welcoming community meeting-house environment with exhibits for any age group.

Saturday Nov. 9th is a perfect example as PEM presents Future Creativity Gala from 7:30pm to midnight. There will be dining, dancing and cocktails as they celebrate the future of the creative process. Yes, in a museum. There will also be creative experience rooms which will feature opportunities to interact with guests and artists with activities designed to engage the senses.

For example, future-themed hors d’oeuvres and small plates, both sweet and savory, will be passed throughout the evening to create a unique dinner-by-the-bite culinary experience.

Matthew Aucoin will compose new work in real time. Guests become part of the process by influencing the style of his composition. Collaborators Kier GoGwilt and Nick Pope will simultaneously react to his composition through additional music and visual art. (Aucoin is PEM’s first composer-in-residence and an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.)

Utilizing taste, touch, sound, sight and smell, Janice Wang will explore the ways we interact with food and with each other through culinary experience. Wang is interested in cognitive psychology in the dining room. (Wang is an MIT Media Lab researcher as part of Kevin Slavin’s Playful Systems group.)

But more than words are needed to explore the creativity that is the PEM. John Andrews of Social Palates posted a link on Twitter this week to the photographs he’s taken highlighting the PEM’s brand of community interaction. With an eye to the future of creativity at PEM, we invite you to also look at the recent past.

Tickets may still be available to Saturday’s event. For more information contact 978-542-1611 or email gala@pem.org. Proceeds from the Future Creativity Gala provide necessary support for the museum’s education, outreach and public programs, as well as new exhibitions.

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.

All Roads Lead To Salem…

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Oct 272013

But, depending on the time 0f day/night, they may not lead out.

The City of Salem has published Road Closures & No Parking Zones for Halloween. And as a courtesy to our followers who may be nearby or are still miles away but planning to be here on the big day/night we are reprinting the schedule from the city website. Please note that all closures are subject to change based on conditions, crowd size, and other public safety factors.

Streets closed to traffic at approximately 4 p.m.( no later than 5 p.m.), and until approximately 11:30 p.m.

This means not only can’t you drive through these streets but if you parked there, you can’t leave either.

1.      Washington St. from New Derby to Bridge St.
2.      Essex St. from Barton Square to Union St.
3.      Derby St. from Lafayette St. to Congress St.
4.      Brown St. at New Liberty St. Second backup closure at Howard St.
5.      Lafayette St. from Derby to Front St.
6.      Hawthorne Blvd. from Derby St. to Essex St.
7.      Washington Sq. West from Essex to Brown St. Washington Sq. South closed. Washington Sq. North closed from Brown to Winter St.
8.      Winter St. at Bridge St. closed to inbound traffic.
9.      Williams St. at Bridge St.
10.     Congress St. closed at South Harbor Garage. Vehicles will be detoured to Pickering Way out to Derby St. Derby St. inbound traffic detoured to Little Hawthorne Blvd., right on Essex St. (Traffic direction will be reversed on Little Hawthorne Blvd.)

Streets closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.

1.      Bridge St. will be closed to traffic between the westerly ramps and the Bypass Road.
2.      Incoming Bridge St northbound traffic will be detoured up westerly ramps to North Street. Bypass Road inbound traffic from Beverly will be diverted back to Bridge Street and back to Beverly. Incoming southbound traffic from Bridge Street will be diverted to the Bypass Road and back to Beverly.
3.      Franklin Street may be closed to traffic if needed.

Other closures or openings could be decided as special circumstances arise.

No parking tow zones from 4 p.m. to midnight. These will be enforced.

1.      Lafayette St. both sides Front to Derby St.
2.      Public parking lot along Front St. Public parking spaces located on Central St. in front of old police station.
3.      Essex St. from Barton Sq. to Hawthorne Blvd.
4.      Derby St. both sides between Congress and Lafayette St.
5.      Hawthorne Blvd. both sides.
6.      Front St.
7.      Central St.
8.      Washington St. from New Derby to Bridge St. both sides.
9.      Washington Sq. North, South, and West both sides.
10.     Federal St. both sides from Washington to Superior Court.
11.     Norman St. from Washington to Crombie St.
12.     Franklin St. on the Furlong Park/North River side of the street.
13.     New Derby St. between Klop Alley and Lafayette St.

Visitors planning to come to Salem on October 31st are strongly encouraged to take the commuter rail or ride the Salem-to-Boston Ferry. For more information about traveling to Salem during Halloween visit the Haunted Happenings website and to be notified about road closures follow @GetThruOctober on Twitter or our own Twitter account @SalemMainStreets.

We will also have this information at our new Visitors’ Info Booth, which is at the corner of Washington and Essex Streets, across from the Bewitched Statue.

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