Holidays – Page 7 – Salem Main Streets

Holiday Happenings – A Recap

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Jan 242016

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For those new to Salem and the work of Salem Main Streets, there’s a frequent misconception that life must get quieter for us after October. We do our best to laugh politely when we hear this from friends and family, as nothing could be further than the truth! Little do they know that we have been planning for months for Holiday Happenings, a collection of events and initiatives celebrating downtown Salem that keep us going non-stop from mid-November through New Year’s Eve.

We’re often so busy looking forward to the next season that we often neglect to celebrate what we’ve just accomplished. As we prepare for our Annual Meeting on Tuesday night, we wanted to take a quick chance to recap all the different pieces that made up Holiday Happenings 2015 for Salem Main Streets – you’ll see what we mean about going non-stop:

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Wreaths and Ribbons – to add to the festive atmosphere, we hung over 100 wreaths around the downtown (this year with lovely white lights, thanks to the City of Salem’s Electrical Department!), and a squad of 25+ volunteers spent a beautiful November morning lugging ladders around and covering the downtown in red ribbon.

The Holiday Tree – our holiday tree on Lappin Park is always a perfect example of the collaborative spirit of Salem, and this year was no exception. From the hours the City’s Department of Public Works donates in helping to decorate, to the community partners who help with selection, delivery, and donations for the tree, to the hundreds of tourists who give donations to Duchess Gigi in October specifically for the tree, and of course, one beautiful, locally-grown and donated tree!

Santa’s Arrival and Tree Lighting – due to a logistical snag, we re-combined these two popular events on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and we are so glad we did! We have never had such a crowd (see picture at the top of this post), and it was truly an incredible way to welcome in the season.

Small Business Saturday – Main Streets teamed up with the Salem Chamber and 40 downtown businesses this year to help promote shopping small and local the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and despite the less than ideal weather, the city was packed with happy shoppers all day long. It also marked the beginning of a month-long partnership with the Boy Scouts, who sold wreaths and wrapped gifts out of the Info Booth as a fundraiser.

Salem Winter Market – we tried something new this year, and decided to move our winter extension of the Salem Farmers’ Market to one weekend day a month, rather than a weekly weeknight through November and December. It seems like you all approved – we saw over twice as many people in those two days than we did for the entire winter market season last year!

Holiday Window Contest – our annual holiday window contest between downtown businesses returned with a vengeance, this year with a social media component where shoppers posted pictures of their favorites.

Festive Friday Nights – we are constantly trying new ways to encourage downtown shopping, and this year we encouraged over 30 downtown retailers to commit to staying open until 8 pm every Friday in December. We gave it kind of a trial run this year, but we are looking forward to hearing from businesses whether we should expand on this in future years.

New Year’s Eve – and last but certainly not least, our New Year’s Eve LAUNCH! event was bigger and better than ever, with over 700 attendees during the two hour event and a “greener” countdown this year with beachballs and paper whirligigs and airplanes to replace the less environmentally-friendly balloons we’d used in the past.

Phew! No wonder we’re just getting around to recapping it now! But what was it all for? Why does Salem Main Streets DO all these things in the first place? Join us for our Annual Meeting on Tuesday night at Ames Hall at the YMCA at 5:30 p.m. and find out!

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Salem Urges Residents to Get in Step with the New Year

Salem Event, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

Dec 302015

The City of Salem is telling residents to “take a hike” — literally, as in urging participation in First Day Hike, a national initiative established by America’s State Parks. Salem’s First Day Hike runs (walks) from noon to 2pm Friday, January 1, 2016, offering several courses with varying degrees of difficulty.

As Salem is already quite a walkable town, we’re sure that many residents and visitors have easily “hiked” along Washington Street, and across Essex or Derby as they shopped our Downtown District. This extra walk to experience the Salem Maritime National Historic Site should be no sweat!

For example, hikers may choose to walk around the Salem Common, and then walk from the Common to Derby Wharf Light House. Or they may just walk from the beginning of Derby Wharf to the Light House. Check out the map for more details on the hike’s course.

“Many of us use New Year’s as an opportunity to make a resolution and set goals for the upcoming year,” points out Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll. “First Day Hike offers residents an opportunity to start the New Year with some exercise or just a chance to get out and celebrate the holiday with other members of the community.”

Last year nearly 28,000 people across America participated in First Day Hikes to kick off the New Year, collectively hiking over 66,000 miles throughout the country!

You obviously would not be alone.

And, if you aren’t much of a cold weather hiker but this event whets your appetite to do more, here are a few tips, courtesy of the American Hiking Society.

Dress in layers. While it is perhaps nice to have a huge, fluffy parka on the ski slopes, it really isn’t practical for the trail. Instead, take several layers you can peel off or put on when you stop and go on the trail. Your base layer should be a wicking fabric that will pull your sweat away from the skin.
Overheating is a dangerous threat since excessive moisture that isn’t allowed to escape can freeze and cause hypothermia. If you ever wondered why some of your jackets have zippers under the armpits, it’s to keep air circulating and prevent your clothes from getting wet.
Wear a hat! Our heads are filled with oxygen-carrying capillaries which fuel our brains and consume one third of the body’s energy. During the colder months it is important to keep your head covered to maintain function and not lose precious body heat. You may want to bring a warmer/heavier hat for rest periods.
Keep your water bottle warm. Whether you are at the campsite or on the trail, a foam sleeve like a koozie will help prevent the water from freezing in a bottle. Nothing warms your body or your spirits like warm liquid by a campfire. Boil water to take with you as you hike. Also, to keep water from freezing, keep your water bottle on the inside of your jacket – properly sealed, of course.

National Parks Superintendent Paul DuPrey adds, “Salem’s outstanding quality of life is built around its history, its open spaces and its people. Come out on New Year’s Day to enjoy all three and put your best foot forward.”

New Year’s Eve Destination: Salem’s LAUNCH!

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News No Responses »

Dec 272015

Where else but Salem MA could you welcome the New Year while at the same time celebrate the past? And still have time to welcome the New Year again! No, we haven’t started sampling the bubbly stuff yet.

The City of Salem and Salem Main Streets are teaming up to throw LAUNCH!, our third annual New Year’s Eve party, this Thursday, Dec. 31 from 4 pm to 6 pm at historic Old Town Hall, Derby Square. Let’s repeat the times, 4-6pm. Bring the entire family – yes the kids too, it’s early enough!

“When we organized LAUNCH! for the first time, it was immediately clear that this needed to be an annual tradition where the community could truly come together,” states Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Executive Director. “Plus, there’s still plenty of time after our early countdown to get to your own party, or catch one of the many other great events happening all over town on New Year’s Eve!”

Attendees can ‘rock the night away’ with local musical favorites including The Dejas, BlacKat, and Kevin William, as well as a number of “rising star” teen musicians. There will be New Year’s Eve related activities and crafts for kids of all ages, thanks to event partners The Gathering, The Phoenix School, and Creative Salem.

Kylie adds, “I’ll be honest, this is truly one of my favorite events of the year. We conduct many events which might arguably have a greater impact, but I love that this event is simply about celebrating together as a community. We’re also so lucky to partner with the City of Salem in using Old Town Hall – there’s something lovely and symbolic to me about getting to use this beautiful public building that celebrates the past, and then throw the doors open to the community to welcome the year to come.”

Speaking of Old Town Hall, we’re also still looking for a few helping hands to join us this Thursday, especially for:

Set up (2 to 4pm): Volunteers should ideally be able to lift up to 25 pounds.
Craft activity support (4 to 6 pm): Help activity leaders as needed.
FACE PAINTERS (4 to 6 pm): We’re not looking for high levels of artistic talent – ability to paint hearts, stars, and “Happy 2016!” is sufficient. We’ll provide the paint and brushes.
Break down (5:45 to 7pm): Volunteers should ideally be able to lift up to 25 pounds.

This event is free to all and family-friendly, with a $5 suggested donation to help support the Salem Main Streets “Holiday Happenings” initiatives, including the wreaths and ribbons around the downtown, the Holiday Tree, and LAUNCH!

There will be an early countdown promptly at 6 pm.

For more info about New Year’s Eve Salem, contact Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Manager, at (978)744-0004 or kylie@salemmainstreets.org, or visit http://salemmainstreets.org/ and follow Salem Main Streets on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

And have a Happy New Year!

Snow or No Snow, Happy Holidays to All!

Salem Event, Salem Shopping, SMS News No Responses »

Dec 242015

Tis the season for gentle flakes of falling snow. But Wednesday’s precipitation only delivered rain.

As we celebrate the holidays with gatherings of friends, family and gifts, here’s a reminder of fluffy white stuff yet to come.

Happy Holidays to all our Downtown merchants, Main Streets volunteers, Salem residents, and visitors!

(All pictures courtesy of John Andrews at Social Palates Photography )

Salem Stores Showcase Spirit of the Season

Salem Event, Salem Shopping, SMS News No Responses »

Dec 212015

Many things do we look forward to during the holiday season, and here at Salem Main Streets we are particularly fond of the Holiday Windows promotion we conduct with the cooperation of the merchants in the Downtown District.

Yes, the holidays are here, and Salem is dressed for the season with trees, wreaths, and ribbons. But to top it off, over 35 downtown businesses joined in by decorating their windows especially for the holidays. Judges nominated by Salem Main Streets recently made the rounds to vote on the best windows.

“We had some truly fantastic windows this year, and there was much friendly disagreement and fighting for favorites between the judges,” said Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Executive Director. “Of particular note, we added a category this year for ‘Best Use of Product’ and were happily surprised to see that this became a very competitive category.”

Overall: Pamplemousse