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Great Holidays Do Really Begin Here in Salem

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Dec 102014

Can you remember a simpler time when holiday shopping was a simple stroll through friendly hometown stores and not a race through impersonal, giant, crowded malls? We do. And we are bringing that back.

Salem Main Streets is introducing a Holiday Stroll on Saturday, Dec. 13th to encourage residents to shop local and enjoy their downtown during the holiday season. Over 40 downtown retailers have committed to staying open until 8 pm on the 13th, and most will be offering special holiday discounts, promotions, and yummy refreshments all day.

How’s that for customer appreciation and “small town” ambiance.

A full list of participating retailers is available for your use.

In keeping with our goal of this being a total community effort, Boy Scout Troop 83 will be running a gift-wrapping station on Derby Square throughout the day, and will be joined by Troop 24, which will be selling wreaths in part to benefit the restoration of the Arch on Salem Common.

And while we are promoting all things Salem for Dec. 13th, don’t miss the Pickering Wharf businesses’ Winter Walk of the Wharf, including a stroll with Santa from 1-4 pm.

But that’s not the only event we have to make your trip worth your time. To add that extra bit of spice to our holiday gift to shoppers, Main Streets is once again conducting the Salem Holiday Window Contest, which runs now thru Dec. 13th.

Over 40 downtown businesses will be participating in the annual Holiday Window Contest, and this year the public can vote on their favorites at a participating business, or online at www.salemmainstreets.org/windows. These retailers go all out to do up their windows to entertain you, and if past entries are any indications (and they are!), we have many, many creative minds— and a couple of far out ones, as you would expect from Salem, MA. A full map of participating windows can be found here. Voting ends on Dec. 13th.

And one more thing. Creative Salem is giving us an extra promotional boost (…thank you, John…) with a related photo contest. For your chance to win a Creative Salem prize pack (valued at $150) take a picture while you are strolling through town or looking at store windows. Share it on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Vine); use the hashtag #salemwindows when posting! Winner will be chosen on the 14th.

Shop, vote, take pictures, find bargains, chat with friendly sales people. All courtesy of your downtown merchants of Salem, MA.

For additional info, contact Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Manager, at 978-744-0004 or kylie@salemmainstreets.org.

Seasonal Salem Santa Sighting

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Dec 022014

People always ask us what we think is the most popular costume seen in Salem Ma. Witch? Ghostbuster? Vampire? We like to say that it depends on the time of year. And for the winter season, without a doubt it is the bright red outfit worn by a certain Kris Kringle during his annual landing atop the Hawthorne Hotel on the first Friday of December.

This year at 6 pm on Dec. 5th, hundreds of on-lookers, children and adults, will be stationed around the Hawthorne on Washington Sq., looking up, up, up to the roof to await Santa’s arrival.

Assisted by the Salem Fire Department, the jolly one will climb down the side of the hotel on a ladder to meet/greet his fans. There will be a procession to the Salem Gazebo for cocoa and caroling, then the parade heads over to the Museum Place Mall for pictures with Santa.

Weather forecast as of today calls for partly cloudy skies on Friday, with temperatures in the mid to low 30s. Perfect weather for reindeer. And kids too, of all ages.

For those of you who have never seen this: here is a Vine video we ran last year (thank you Salem News & Hawthorne Hotel).

Community Events Make Salem Perfect Holiday Destination

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Nov 282014

…And you thought Halloween was busy in Salem. Today and tomorrow we have several events to lead off the winter holiday season in style.

ART MARKET

In search of the perfect, unique little gift that says “I put some extra effort and didn’t just drive to the mall or walk into a giant department store?” Look to Old Town Hall in Derby Square where today (11/28/14) from noon to 9 pm will be an Art Market, courtesy of the Salem Collective of Artists & Musicians, the Salem Arts Association and Marrow.

There you will discover handcrafted items such as paintings, fiber arts, glass, pottery, jewelry and more. These works of art are created by local artists.

But that’s not all, later from 7-11 pm will be a Holiday Dance with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Salem Food Pantry.

HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING

It’s just a tree and some lights. But it is so much more. At approx. 6:15 pm on Nov.28th, Lappin Park becomes the focal point of the city when residents join Mayor Kimberley Driscoll in lighting Salem’s Holiday Tree.

(The Park is the grassy area next to the Bewitched Statue at the intersection of Essex Street and Washington Street— directly across from our still standing Haunted Happenings Visitor Info Booth!).

It is a holiday tradition that lights up not only the tree but the eyes of children in the crowds with awe and delight. So bring the entire family out for carols with the Paul Madore Singers; as we expect it to be a bit cool, there will also be available cocoa and snacks!

The event is organized by Salem Main Streets and the City of Salem. This year’s tree is provided in part by a donation from the MeetingHouse Church and numerous donations from Salem’s October visitors. Decorations and lights were made possible by individual contributions and donations from a number of local businesses, including Morning Glory Bed & Breakfast.

Salem Main Streets would additionally like to express appreciation to North Shore Marine and All Star Collision & Towing for their services in delivering the tree, and the Salem Department of Public Works and Gary Gill for decorating the tree.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

And you need to put presents under your own tree (if you do a tree). Can’t find what you need at the Art Market? Black Friday shopping may not help you. We suggest you widen your search zone to all of Salem. We are a small business mecca. Almost every store is owned and operated by a small business operator, not a chain. Salem is where you can walk a block in any direction and find unique items for men, women, children and pets.

Saturday, Nov. 29^th is Small Business Saturday, a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. To encourage Salem residents to “Shop Local First” this holiday season, Mayor Driscoll has announced that parking in Salem will be free on November 29th in both municipal garages and on Washington, Front and Essex Streets. On November 30th all parking will be free, including at all meters, in both municipal garages, and in all municipal surface lots.

You can drive to the malls, park half a football field away from the stores, and once inside feel like you are on a treadmill forced to walk with the flows of the crowds. Or come to Salem, find convenient parking, and walk whatever way you feel to stores or restaurants. It’s your choice. Really, it’s your choice.

Turkey Day Means Still More to Do and See in Salem

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Nov 272014

Thanksgiving may signal that the year is almost over— but not as far as activities to see and do in Salem Ma! So, as you go about your Turkey Day preparations at home, or on way to grandma’s house (or wherever you are going), here are some ingredients for the rest of the year:

Holiday Tree Lighting
Holiday Art Market
Four Centuries of Christmas at the Gables
Christmas in Salem
“A Christmas Carol” Trolley Tour
Santa’s Arrival at the Hawthorne
Small Business Saturday
Salem Winter Market

We’ll be telling you more about these and other events in upcoming blogs. Didn’t want to stuff you with too much… info today.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Warming Up to Downtown Shopping

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Nov 222014

What do the over 100 restaurants, gift shops, other stores and attractions in Salem Ma have in common right now? Besides good bargains and eclectic choices, they have heat! Temperatures today (Saturday) are not expected to rise beyond the upper 30s. So you can sit at home, or go to a cold impersonal mall — or make Salem a one-stop warm & toasty shopping/dining daytrip destination. (This also applies to Sunday, or for that matter any day you would like to visit.)

But don’t take our word for it. Friday’s Salem Gazette had an article and an interview related to downtown shopping.

In the first of two front page stories, the emphasis was on the lengths North Shore communities (including Salem) go during the holiday season to invite and involve the community in local shopping over malls and big-box stores.

Ethan Hartley wrote “…local businesses in Massachusetts can offer something that you will be hard pressed to find under the bleak, florescent lights of a conglomerate store or a shopping mall — old-fashioned holiday cheer and excitement with an emphasis on building a strong community.”

Community is a key word. Salem Main Streets endeavors to work with our downtown merchants to design and promote events which increase business traffic and cement customer support/loyalty. The second article, an interview by Gregg Phipps with our manager Kylie Sullivan points to one of those projects, the Salem Winter Market.

Is the Winter Market successful in bringing people downtown to shop and do you think more and more people are turning away from mall shopping?

“That’s certainly the hope. There are so many great shops in downtown Salem, and we try really hard to ensure that our vendor offerings at the Winter Market complement rather than compete with the surrounding businesses.”

Kylie went on to explain that as much as the Market brings vendors to downtown Salem, it also creates a community gathering space in downtown Salem where residents and visitors from neighboring towns stop to chat with the vendors, other shoppers and even with merchants in surrounding stores.

Shopping need not be impersonal. It can be fun. The Winter Market will be closed this week in light of Thanksgiving but will be open again on Dec. 4, 11 and 18. Our stores, restaurants and attractions are open now. And the warmth you feel when you go inside comes from the people, as well as the heating vents.

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