arts – Page 30 – Salem Main Streets

Sounds of Silent Martial Art Film at Next PEM/PM

Oct 132013

Our friends at the Peabody Essex Museum had a long way to go to top last month’s PEM/PM monthly evening party series involving Steampunk. And it looks like they have. All the way to China of 1929. This Thursday, Oct. 17 from 6:30 – 9:30pm enjoy a live performance by Devil Music Ensemble as they play their original score for Red Heroine, one of the only remaining feature-length martial arts films from China’s silent era.

Made at the height of the martial arts craze in 1920s Shanghai, this lively tale features the genre’s blend of pulp and mystical derring-do.

As noted in a summary of a NY Times review:

This silent Chinese film serial consisted of 13 chapters. The story featured orphan Yun Mei (Fan Xueping), who survives a brutal attack by a warlord that killed her grandmother. She is taken in by a monk (director Wen Timin) who schools her in martial arts. When she masters her talents, she seeks to exact her revenge on the warlord, who spends much of his time cavorting with concubines. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi.

Enhancing the visual performance, will be the sound provided by Devil Music Ensemble. Founded in 1999 by Brendon Wood, Devil Music Ensemble explores many facets of music — rock, electronic, orchestral, folk, improvisation, incidental, etc. The band’s original scores have been credited with enhancing the film-watching experience for all.

The trio recently finished a European tour, giving live soundtrack performances to Red Heroine in 12 countries in Western and Eastern Europe.

The PEM/PM evening events also include a Lion Dance followed by Kung Fu demonstrations led by Grandmaster Winchell P.C. Woo, founder of Chiu Mo Kwoon, the first traditional Kung Fu school in the Boston area. There will, as often does happen at these PEM/PM events, be a food tasting and chef demonstration. Try your hand at art making.

Admission is free of charge for PEM members and Salem residents (with ID); nonmembers pay $10 at the door. For more info, call 866‐745‐1876 or visit pem.org. The Museum is located at 161 Essex St, in Salem Ma.

Biz Baz, Toyota and SMS

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Oct 042013

BizBaz…. ZabZib….. Forward and backward, it’s an annual event that for many a visitor and resident alike is as much anticipated as the entire Haunted Happenings celebration. Where else can you walk through Salem Ma. to see booth after booth after booth of vendor after vendor after vendor?

This weekend, The Salem Chamber of Commerce will be hosting this Bizarre Bazaar (hence BizBaz) which showcases more than 80 vendors selling products that range from handmade jewelry and art, to uniquely Salem gifts. You can shop on Saturday from 10am to 8pm and on Sunday from 10am to 6pm .

Just walk along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall and you can’t miss the sights and sounds of intriguing delights for children and adults.

This year’s event is also driven by a special appearance (full disclosure and product placement) by Toyota that benefits Salem Main Streets. For each test-drive taken, Toyota’s Drive for a Cause campaign will make a donation to support Salem Main Streets.

We are not trying to sell cars, although we do strongly suggest test drives, but if you’ve been thinking about buying a new vehicle, this is your chance to get behind the wheel of a Camry, Rav4, Prius c, and Prius for an extended test drive experience. With all the wild things going on at BizBaz this has got to rank as a low or no-pressure environment.

The Toyota Let’s Go For A Drive event will take place on Hawthorne Boulevard (just south of the Hawthorne Hotel) on both Saturday and Sunday.

Anything Happening Before Halloween?

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Sep 272013

Spotlights are about to be switched on. While it may not be the Greatest Show on Earth, Salem’s “Haunted Happenings” October month-long festival will give most other Halloween festivals a run for their money. But before we turn the page to all that is dark and gloomy and fun, September has one more week.

And what a week it has been and will still be.

Another great Farmers Market took place on Thursday, followed by a lively PEM/PM after-hours gathering of the Steampunk followers (as evidenced by the lively Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band pictured here). Feed the stomach and the mind.

Speaking of feeding oneself, Billy Costa of NECN’s “TV Diner” will serve (could not resist) as the emcee of the 4th Annual Mystery Dine Around Salem Waterfront Hotel, Friday from 5:30-11pm. The menu? “Be transported to one of 15 designated restaurants for a fabulous dinner; then following dinner, guests return to the hotel to enjoy the Decadent Dessert Buffet, dancing, live DJ, and the opportunity to bid on an assortment of auction items.” There may be tickets still available, call 978.740.8788. Proceeds to benefit The Lifebridge Campus.

Then looking ahead to Saturday, well you can’t beat the drums loud enough to support the special fundraiser for the Boys/Girls Club of Salem music program taking place at Wynott’s Wands, 127 Essex St.

Salem musician Aaron Katz from The Dejas plans to drum 30 hours straight in an effort to set a new World-Record for Drumming in a Retail Store. And spurring him on will hopefully be you and other community members making donations.

Children, tourists, artists and residents are invited to get involved and bring their own instruments to participate and show solidarity for the music program’s initiative— as well as give Aaron some musical changes of pace for his drumming.

Survival of another kind manifests itself later in the day, as The Running Dead- Zombie 5K run is unleashed. Runners will try to stay the course while besieged by “zombies” who have the lone goal of eliminating you. The choice is yours. Proceeds will benefit the NSMC Cancer Center. Info and registration at www.runningdeadz5k.com

And then the weekend ends with a full Sunday.

Cruise the historic waters of Salem Sound aboard a full-scale replica of the 1812 privateer schooner FAME! From 11am to 12:45pm passengers will learn about the fishermen, pirates, privateers, traders and men of war who shaped our North Shore. Limited Availability! No reservations. Booth opens at 10:30AM. First come, first served. 80 Pickering Wharf. More info available at www.trailsandsails.org.

Enjoy Spiritual Middens: The Archaeology of Folklore – an exhibit and artifacts on display at the Witch House, 310 1/2 Essex St. You will find featured deliberately concealed items designed to protect a home’s vulnerable places, the threshold and the hearth. Entrance to the exhibit is free to Trails & Sails event attendees from 1-3pm only. For more info go to www.trailsandsails.org.

Learn about Salem and the Abolitionist Movement. A walking tour will begin at Old Town Hall in Derby Square; examine the history and impact of local and national abolitionists in Salem. This 90 minute tour will move around downtown Salem on city sidewalks. For more info go to www.trailsandsails.org. Runs from 1-3 pm.

Share an experience as you observe The 3rd Annual Gimme Shelter Birdhouse Auction, 1-3 pm at Artist’s Row, 24 New Derby St. Featured birdhouses were designed, built, and donated by local folks of all ages and abilities. Proceeds to benefit the Northeast Animal Shelter. Hosted by Salem Collective of Artists and Musicians, Serendipitish, and Social Palates. For more info go to salemcollective@gmail.com. or www.facebook.com/salemcollective/events

Drive over to Winter Island Pavilion for the 4 Paws Fundraiser Charity Cookout for Service Dogs, from 1-5 pm. Food, games, a bounce house, and music are all included for the price of admission! Plus raffle prizes. All proceeds will go to the Charity 4PawsforAbility towards Gabriel Lacerda’s goal to help him receive an Autism Service Dog! Fun for the whole family and a great cause! For more details go to www.paws4gabe.com

Taste the Gables. Join local chefs for an elegant evening of fun, food, and camaraderie under the tent on The Gables’ oceanfront lawn. Proceeds will benefit the preservation of eight historic houses. Caterers and chefs, vintners and brewers will offer their specialties and compete for your vote. It runs from 4-8 pm at 115 Derby St. For more info go to www.7gables.org.

Many of these events are benefits. Salem may be famous for Halloween as a tourist destination, but we are that and so much more.

80 Days: Steampunk Celebration at PEM

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Sep 212013

That which the world could have been, and yet can still be to some, fills the air at the next PEM/PM open late monthly evening party. Steampunk will flavor this month’s Peabody Essex Museum event which celebrates time travel and globetrotting through PEM’s extensive riveting collection of art from around the world, Thursday, Sept. 26 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

The museum’s after-hours program with music and dance performances, food tastings, lectures, art demonstrations and activities kicked off in the summer of 2011, and has grown in popularity ever since. Besides the fantastic art collection as an attraction, this month’s theme will also draw special visitors.

For the uninitiated, Steampunk embraces the social and/or technological aspects of the 19th century (think steam engines) at the expense of (quoting from Steampunk.com) “some deconstruction of, reimagining of, or rebellion against” parts (think punk) of the 19th Century. At least that was the launching point of this science fiction & fantasy subgenre.

It soon took on a life of its own; Steampunk burst forth onto the gaming scene, then into movies and TV. Steampunk clothing and accessories soon appeared. And then came the sub-culture of followers to the philosophy which melds ideals of creativity & self-reliance with a Victorian optimistic view of the future.

All this extra information is to prepare regular PEM/PM attendees because the PEM is inviting guests to wear their favorite Steampunk fashion and come, as the featured Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band requests, “to dance at the edge of reason, sing the song of society’s fringe and drum out whatever rhythm you are called to march to.”

Then take a Victorian-themed global quest via the PEM galleries to seek answers to art-related trivia questions. The evening includes cocktails & conversation, art making, and games, plus a tasting & demonstration by Brown Butter Bakery in Cambridge. And in attendance, a lot of costumed people celebrating a way of life.

No reservations are required. Members and Salem residents will be admitted free of charge; $10 for nonmembers. For more info call 866‐745‐1876 or visit the website at www.pem.org.

And if you really get into the swing of the Steampunk mode, there will be an after-party party at Opus Restaurant, 87 Washington St. Call 978-744-9600 or go to their website for more info.

Haunted Happenings Honored

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Sep 152013

Salem MainStreets has always known that Haunted Happenings is an event worthy of national recognition. Now others not only know it, they are spreading the word. The American Bus Association (ABA) has announced that our month-long celebration is one of the Top 100 Events in North America for 2014

ABA’s Top 100 Events in North America is an annual compendium of the best events for group travel in the United States and Canada. Each spring, a committee of ABA-member motorcoach and tour operators selects the Top 100 Events for the subsequent year; the list is unveiled in September. Winners are chosen from hundreds of celebrations, festivals, fairs, commemorative events, and more that have been nominated by ABA members.

“The attractiveness of Salem Haunted Happenings as a don’t-miss entertainment value is only part of why its selection this year is such a distinction for Salem,” said Peter J. Pantuso, CTIS, ABA’s president and CEO. “The real news here is that Haunted Happenings has been recognized as a potential magnet for tourism dollars, at a time when re-energizing domestic tourism is so important to our spirit and our economy. The honor gives Salem, Massachusetts an important boost in visibility among professional tour planners.”

The Top 100 Events receive worldwide attention via the media–television, radio, and print–such as USA Today and CNN. ABA distributes some 10,000 copies of the Top 100 Events in North America magazine, featuring the winners, to all of its members and to thousands of travelers worldwide.

“Motorcoach groups spend more and stay longer,” Pantuso said. “That’s why Haunted Happenings is truly a local economic asset. There is no better way to jump-start tourism than to attract motorcoach groups to a great event and convince them to extend their stay.”

And unlike most other “celebrations, festivals, fairs, commemorative events,” ours is neither a one nor two day event; it is 31 days & nights filled with music, art, history, entertainment, costumes and magical moments.

Check out the several spots Salem Ma has designated for motorcoaches. Then, women & men, leave the driving to them.

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