History – Page 27 – Salem Main Streets

Wanted: Ambassadors To Share Salem

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.

Are you going…?

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Sep 182009

…to the Suprise Birthday Party, on the Trolley tour, on the walking tour, to the plaque dedication or to one of the many fantastic events celebrating the life of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne this weekend.

Celebrate the 200th Birthday of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne downtown Salem, MA from Saturday, September 19 through Monday September 21th. Events to commemorate the life of Sophia Peabody, one of the famous Peabody Sisters, a gifted painter and illustrator and the wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne. For a full schedule of events, click here.

Join the Salem Farmers’ Market in celebrating…

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Aug 262009

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009

The Salem Farmers’ Market will be holding a 375th Anniversary celebration at the market on Thursday, September 3 starting at 4:00 p.m. Speakers at the event include Representative John Keenan and local historian Jim McCallister. On September 3, 1634 the Massachusetts General Court first authorized Salem to hold a weekly farmers market. The event September 3rd will honor Salem’s long tradition as a market town and celebrate the successful return of a market to downtown Salem. The Salem Farmers’ Market, organized by Salem Main Streets, is held in Derby Square on Front St. every Thursday from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. For more information or updates visit www.salemfarmersmarket.org.

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