festivals – Page 18 – Salem Main Streets

Haunted Happenings Honored

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.

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.

PEM Inspired Gifts

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Aug 242013

Gifts are a token of affection, an expression of friendship, or a transfer of goods in business with no expectation of return. And gifts are also the theme of this year’s Salem Arts Association “PEM Inspirational” show, The Gift, Sept. 6-29. The subject this year is Peabody Essex Museum’s Fabergé Revealed exhibition.

This is the 7th year that SAA members and non members have been asked to create art derived from a PEM exhibit. Last year, the Salem Arts Association presented Off the Top of Your Head, inspired by the Peabody Essex Museum’s Hats: An Anthology of Stephen Jones. Visitors were delighted with over 45 pieces, some of which included real milliner’s hats!

This year the questions posed to artists were:

What is the definition of a gift?
What is the meaning of a gift?
Could artists create a “gift” with interpretations in various media.

No doubt there will be plenty of inspiration from which to draw.

At the Peabody Essex Museum’s Fabergé Revealed show, you will see some amazing gifts there that were created for the aristocracy. Fabergé is synonymous with refined craftsmanship, jeweled luxury and the Russian imperial family. This exhibition explores the ideas of luxury, innovation, entrepreneurship and imperial patronage while providing insight into Peter Carl Fabergé’s life, business and legacy.

The Peabody Essex Museum will share (as a gift) its 181 Essex Street space to SAA for this exhibition. The curator of Fabergé Revealed, Dean Lahikainen, the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Art for the Peabody Essex Museum, will judge the 7th “PEM Inspirational” show.

Viewings will be Thurs- Sun. from noon-6pm. For more details, visit salemartsassociation.org or contact: 978-745-4850.

The Point is About Salem

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Aug 092013

We hope residents and visitors alike have been enjoying our Salem Ma Heritage Days celebration. There is a great deal of planning, investment of volunteer time and resources involved to pull it off. Variety of events is a key factor. And Sunday we have another dimension in events called “Get to The Point: Neighborhood Narratives” which is an installation by Salem Public Space Project (SPSP) showcasing memories experienced by Point residents in their neighborhood.

SPSP will accomplish this through an interactive installation featuring stories and postcards of the Point; they will be set up in front of the Derby Square bookstore on Essex Street from 10am – 4:30pm on Sunday.

Salem Public Space Project pictures & postcard

Best way to describe the project is to do it in their own words.

“How do you get to know a place? Often it happens without your realization, and soon you know it like the back of your hand.

Other times, knowing a place takes effort, but there are tools to help: maps, photos, descriptions, signs, GPS, phone apps, your own eyes, and the friendly residents you may encounter.

The members of the Salem Public Space Project seek to know the public spaces of Salem with the help of all these tools, and especially residents. SPSP will document, gather, organize and analyze input to curate the Past Stories, Present Narratives and Future Possibilities of Salem’s Public Spaces – which are, in fact, Salem itself.”

To know the past is to better understand the present and the future. Take a look at their Facebook page and website for more info.

Waiting for the Weekend

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May 012013

A new month is upon us and Salem residents know that means first and foremost, First Friday (on May 3rd) when merchants keep their businesses open until 8pm (some even later) to accommodate extra walk-in traffic. But this special weekend also features a Hats Off to Education gala fundraiser and the 2013 Mass Poetry Festival. Can you find the time to squeeze it all in?

First Friday (held on the first Friday of every month) is part of our efforts at Salem MainStreets to help promote not just the shopping potential of our Downtown District but to spotlight the merchants behind the counters. First Friday gives them a chance to be creative in presentation, theme, and goodies to give out.

oysters For example, Finz restaurant is offering $1 oyster from 5-7pm, while Vic’s Boathouse has $1 shrimp cocktail from 6-8pm and Pamplemouse has a special wine tasting event.

And you, the shopping public are the benefactors.

Also on May 3rd will be Hats Off to Education, a fundraiser for the Salem Education Foundation, whose goal is to provide funding for projects that further students’ educational experiences in science, mathematics, the arts and humanities. This “hat-themed” ticketed event features a live auction, $5,000 reverse raffle, great food and live music, and the new Wall of Wine (WOW!). The event begins at 7:30pm at the Hawthorne Hotel.

Tickets may be purchased: online at https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/communicate/EventTickets.action?auctionId=186435375 or at the door on the evening of the event.

There is also an Online Auction running now through May 5th with over 200 items including sporting and theater tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants and shops, weekend getaways and more. To participate in the Online Auction, go to www.biddingforgood.com/sefspringauction

For Friday night, here are just a few of the items up for bid.

Salem Lobstering Expedition & Dinner for four, Donated by Melea & Mike Nalli
Autographed Patriots Football, Donated by the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation
Unique Date Night: Perfume and Corset Evening followed by Dinner at Red Lulus, Donated by J’Adore & Red LuLu’s
Salem Sunset Cruise for Six, Donated by Cindy and Peter Theriault

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival is a three-day event (May 3-5) attracting a variety of local and regional poets, hosting poetry readings, interactive workshops, panel discussions, music, film, visual arts, and performances to various venues in Salem.

For full description of the activities (and there are many), participants, and most importantly registration to attend, go to their website. This is important. By signing up for all the events you wish to attend, even if not required, provides the Festival organizers with data to decide if they need to move a smaller event to a larger space.

The festival in the past attracted more than 1,500 poets and followers. So a word to the wise should be sufficient.

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