salem – Page 5 – Salem Main Streets

Salem Holiday Window Contest Has Invitation for You

Contests, History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News No Responses »

Dec 052015

Holiday window from 2013. What will you find this year?

Picture taking is an activity that so many more people do these days, especially on their cell phones, that we have added another dimension to our annual Holiday Window Contest which encourages Salem merchants to decorate their storefront windows with images of the season.

Now everyone wins during the Holiday Window Contest! Share YOUR pictures of your favorite holiday windows on Instagram or on our Facebook page with ‪#‎salemholidaywindows‬ – we’ll pick 5 winners between today and Christmas to get a small prize from a local business! (Hint: your chances improve if it’s a window that’s officially competing!).

Holiday Window Participants

Cabot Wealth Management – 216 Essex Street
CinemaSalem – Museum Place Mall
Coon’s Card & Gift Shop / Penelope’s Pet Boutique – 226 Essex Street
The Coven’s Cottage – 190 Essex Street
Derby Joe – 142 Derby Street
Flying Saucer Pizza Company – 118 Washington Street
For Kids Only Afterschool – 194 Essex Street
Fringe Salon – 73 Wharf Street
Gulu Gulu Café – 247 Essex Street
The Happy Sunflower – 78 Wharf Street
Hedrington’s – 61 Wharf Street
The House of Seven Gables – 115 Derby Street
J. Mode – 17 Front Street
Kan.del –Museum Place Mall
Laura Lanes Skin Care – 242 Essex Street
LightShed Photography – 79 Washington Street
Melita Fiore – 83 Washington Street
Modern Millie Vintage & Consignments – 3 Central Street
The New England Dog Biscuit Company – 7 Central Street
Opus – 87 Washington Street
Pamplemousse – 185-189 Essex Street
Re-find – 72 Washington Street
Re-find Men’s – 244 Essex Street
RJ Coins & Jewelry – 68 Wharf Street
Roost & Company – 40 Front Street
Rouge Cosmetics – 322 Derby Street
Salem Arts Association – 179 Essex St
Salem Collective of Artists & Musicians – 179 Essex St
Salemdipity – 86 Wharf Street
Silver Moon Comics & Collectibles–Museum Place Mall
Tibet Arts & Healing – 230 Essex Street
Trolley Depot – 191 Essex Street
Turtle Alley Chocolates – 177 Essex Street
Village Silversmith – 186 Essex Street
Witch City Consignment & Thrift – 301 Essex Street
Witch Tee’s –173 Essex Street

From a downtown holiday tree in Lappin Park to evergreen wreaths with candy cane lamp posts, Salem is dressed for the season and welcomes you. Come, take part in our window contest as you do your holiday shopping.

Salem Literary Festival, a Writer’s Resource

Contests, History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, Uncategorized No Responses »

Nov 122015

You don’t write because you want to say something… you write because you have something to say —F. Scott Fitzgerald

So many, many people have had such a great deal to “say” over the years that a regular gathering of writers and readers was inevitable to share and discuss those thoughts put to words. These gatherings are called Literary Festivals and Salem has its own taking place right now, Nov. 12-18.

Among the highlights of this year’s Salem Literary Festival will be guest lecturers Frank Bidart, Stacy Schiff and Brunonia Barry, plus a full day of activities for writers that features an open mic session, a scavenger hunt and playwriting advice from the creators of the critically acclaimed local mainstay Cry Innocent.

11/12/15 – Frank Bidart
Kick off the festival at the Salem State Writer’s Series with a reading from poet Frank Bidart whose first books, Golden State and The Book of the Body, gained critical attention and praise. His reputation as a poet of uncompromising originality was made with The Sacrifice, published in 1983. The 2007 recipient of the Bollingen Prize for Poetry, he teaches English at Wellesley College.

(Time: 7:30pm at Salem State University, Martin Luther King Room, Ellison Campus Center. Admission is free of charge.)

11/13/15 – Stacy Schiff
Join Pulitzer Prize winning author Stacy Schiff for the keynote address and presentation of her new historical work, The Witches, Salem 1692 which she researched at Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library. Schiff is the author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Saint-Exupéry, Pulitzer Prize finalist; A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, winner of the George Washington Book Prize. Named a 2011 Library Lion by the New York Public Library, she lives in New York City.

(Time: 7pm at Peabody Essex Museum, East India Marine Hall. Admission: PEM Members $7; nonmembers $10. Reservations must be made by November 12. For more info go to http://pem.org/calendar/ or call 978-542-1511.)

11/14/15 – A Day For Writers
Nestle into the beautiful Salem Athenaeum for the day. It will begin by bringing you prompt sessions to wake up your writer’s brain. Choose your guide from among fantastic local writers, such as Jaffa award-winning poet Danielle Jones-Pruett or Audrey Mardavich. Keep the creativity flowing with panels on writing adolescent characters for adults, YA, sci fi / fantasy, and poetry.

Learn how to start and run a literary magazine with The Critical Flame and Buck Off Magazine, and gain insights to the page-to-stage process of playwriting with Mark and Kristina Stevick, creators of the Salem theatrical institution, Cry Innocent.

Share your own work at the afternoon open mic, investigate Salem’s literary history and hidden gems as part of an ongoing scavenger hunt, and stay for a Movietelling Reading where fresh young poets will read their own versions of the script over such favorites as Disney’s Cinderella and Return to Oz.

(Time: 10am – 1pm and 2:30pm – 6pm at Salem Athenaeum. Admission is free of charge.)

11/18/15, Brunonia Barry
End the Salem Literary Festival by attending the last of the “Seven Lectures at Seven Gables” series with New York Times bestselling author (The Lace Reader) Brunonia Barry who will lecture on her book, The Map of True Places. Set in Boston and Salem, this well-crafted novel has been described as immersive and beautifully written as it explores finding one’s true place in the world.

Barry was the first American author to win the International Women’s Fiction Festival’s Baccante Award and was a past recipient of Ragdale Artists’ Colony’s Strnad Invitational Fellowship as well as the winner of New England Book Festival’s award for Best Fiction.

(Time: 6pm at House of Seven Gables. Admission: House of the Seven Gables members are free; Non-Members pay $7. For more info email groups@7gables.org, or call 978-744-0991 ext. 104.

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed – Ernest Hemingway

Come to the Salem Literary Festival where you will meet those who have achieved success as writers and mingle with those (such as yourself?) thirsting for that success.

Come Sail Away, Sail Away with Me

History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals No Responses »

Nov 072015

Expect to see today a different Salem than you saw last month as we harken back to our “other” historical claim to fame as a maritime power. You are invited to join the Essex county sailing community as it marks the end of the sailing season with Salem’s second annual Downrigging Festival today beginning at 10am.

The day-long event features four public sails, an assortment of maritime talks, live demonstrations, wooded boats, ship tours aboard FRIENDSHIP and more! Public sails require a reservation and fee, but all other activities are free to the public.

A better day could not have been selected. Visibility is expected to be 10 miles with one foot waves, good breezes and temperatures in comfortable low 60s.

All vessels will be docked at Salem Maritime National Historic Site (173 Derby Street) or Pickering Wharf Marina (23 Congress Street).

Participants include Schooner FAME, Schooner ARDELLE, Schooner ADVENTURE, Essex National Heritage Area, and Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

Schedule of Events

10am – Friendship opens for public visitation
10:30am – A Presentation on Baker’s Island and Essex National Heritage Area with Greg Guckenburg and Mary Hillery and Captain Ed Wolfe. 160 Derby Street, 2nd Floor.
11am – Open ship and demonstrations (each half hour) aboard FRIENDSHIP12:00PM – FAME Public Sail (90 minutes)
12pm – An illustrated talk on the current downrigging of FRIENDSHIP
12:30pm – A conversation with maritime photographer Leighton O’Conner. 160 Derby Street, 2nd Floor.
1pm – ARDELLE Public Sail (90 minutes)
2pm – FAME Public Sail (90 minutes)
2pm – An illustrated talk on the current downrigging of FRIENDSHIP
2:30pm – Steve and Jenny Sail for a Cancer Cure, a Conversation with S/V Ahava. 160 Derby Street, 2nd Floor.
3pm – ARDELLE Public Sail (90 minutes)
4:30pm – A Presentation by Captain Stefan Edick, Schooner ADVENTURE. 160 Derby Street, 2nd Floor.

To purchase tickets for public sails ($10 for adults, $5 for children 13 and under) aboard FAME or ARDELLE online go to www.zerve.com/SchoonerFame/Downrig or call the Schooner FAME at (978) 729-7600.

Visit www.nps.gov/sama for the complete schedule and updated information.

Come see the Salem of the sea!

And Now for Something Completely Different in Salem MA

Contests, Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News No Responses »

Oct 282015

What isn’t different in Salem MA during Halloween what with all the witch-stuff, ghostbusters, zombie nurses, etc.? How about these two alternative events for Friday Oct. 30th evening: the First Annual Spice Eating Challenge at Artists’ Row and the Salem Classical production Songs of the Supernatural, produced with support from Salem Main Streets and Creative Salem.

Deborah Greel, Public Art Planner for the City of Salem (Department of Planning and Community Development) describes both events as having an “appeal to tourists but definitely geared for locals too.”

The Heat is ON

Step up to the 1st Annual #Salem MA Wicked Hot Spice Tasting Challenge!!! It will be conveniently located in one of our hottest creative spaces, Artists’ Row, and hosted by Karen Scalia of Salem Food Tours (which is itself located at Artists’ Row). The Challenge will run from 6-7pm, rain or shine. Sign up sheet to be a taster available night of the event.

“The tastings will be four types of mashed chili peppers,” explains Scalia. “Four levels of hot fun – from mild, medium, hot, and SUPER HOT!”

Too afraid to try the heat??? Then just come on down to cheer the poor souls on!! Bwahahahahahaha

The chilis are being supplied by Salem Spice, which also will have them for sale during the event.

“We are thrilled to stage this free community event,” states Scalia. “It’s a fun and exciting way to start Halloween weekend in Salem, a fantastic way to celebrate Artists’ Row, and a great way to support our local fire department.”

Salem Fire Department Local 172 will be in attendance selling tee shirts to raise money for local fire station amenities (which are usually paid for out of pocket by fire-fighters).

As for just what makes chili peppers such a hot deal? According to the website chilipeppermadness.com, “That spiciness we all love and crave comes from a compound called capsaicin that is found in all hot peppers. Interestingly enough, capsaicin is found in no other plant than the chili pepper. A single drop of this substance combined with 100,000 parts water is still noticeably spicy.”

As for advice when the heat is too much to beat? The website advises “Don’t Drink The Water! Pure capsaicin is soluble in alcohol but not soluble in cold water. Hence, instead of dousing the raging flame on your tongue, the water will only spread the spices around in your mouth and make the situation worse. Instead, try sugar or milk to curb that luscious heat.”

For more info, check out the Challenge website.

And if you DARE for more, The Lobster Shanty (also on Artists’ Row) will be serving some delicious spicy HOT specials to get your taste buds roaring.

Coldly Haunting Classical

A siren haunts a rock on the river Rhine.
A princess, locked away in a Bronze Room.
A charlatan conducts sham séances.
A teenage girl, driven to suicide by cruel fate…

The Salem Witch Trials are not the only persecutions fixated on the supernatural. Explore dark magic and tragic heroines, set to hauntingly gorgeous music by Schubert, Berlioz, Liszt, Menotti, Lees, and Rorem, when Salem Main Streets and Salem Classical present the Salem debut of Songs of the Supernatural at the First Church in Salem (316 Essex Street) at 8pm.

Kate Kostopoulos will be the performing soprano; she is from Boston and has been pursing vocal performance for the past six years and simultaneously maintaining a career in Arts Administration.

She is a recent graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music where she received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. Earlier this year Kostopoulos was a Young Artist at the Atlantic Music Festival performing opera and art song repertoire.

Brendon Shapiro will be her pianist; he is a vocal coach, musical director, and conductor based in Boston. Currently serving as a staff pianist at Boston University and organist for First Parish in Arlington, MA, he has additionally been hired by numerous opera companies, recitalists, choral ensembles, and religious organizations in the area.

He also is on faculty as a vocal coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Shapiro holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano Performance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Ithaca College School of Music where he won the Mary Hayes North Piano Competition Award.

Salem Classical is the home of classical music located in the heart of the pedestrian zone of historic downtown Salem. The mission of Salem Classical is to remove the boundary between the public and performers, bringing some of the greatest music ever composed to Salem. Audiences are invited to frequent concerts as a compliment to the overall cultural experience in the city of Salem that includes dozens of restaurants, shops, and museums. And witches, ghostbusters, etc., etc.

For more info go to the Classical Salem website.

This upcoming Friday night is the “calm before the storm,” so why not venture out for chili and classical? Only in Salem MA would saying that make any sense.

Memories… light the corners of…Derby Square— Final Salem Farmers’ Market

Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Shopping No Responses »

Oct 212015

Bittersweet may it be, another Farmers’ Market season is coming to a close. The stands will soon be bare. The Salem weekly Thursday outdoor gatherings of vendors and buyers from 3-7pm in Derby Square ends on 10/22/15. Which means you have one more opportunity to get the freshest of the fresh, in produce and baked goods for your dinner table.

According to a Boston Globe article, “The U.S. government recommends that American adults eat 5 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables depending on your age, gender, and activity level,” and while a Harvard School of Public Health study is suggesting eating any more than five servings a day won’t further improve results, it does add more confirmation to that recommendation.

Researchers sifted through 16 studies involving 833,000 participants with the conclusion that going with at least the daily five servings “lowered the risk of dying by 25 percent.”

Therefore, eating fruits & veggies is a good thing. And the Salem Farmers’ Market has fruits and veggies (and bread, lobsters…).

The Farmers’ Market also has been a strong supporter of the food stamp/SNAP program. That has also been a good thing.

According to USDA at farm markets across America, overall food stamp participation and spending has increased since 2008 when the program had an average monthly participation of 28,233,000 beneficiaries, and spent a total of $37,639,640,000. In 2014, the program had an average monthly participation of 46,537,000 and spent a total of $74,157,710,000.

Those are a lot of fruits and vegetables! So get down to our final of the season Farmers’ Market before the stands are empty.

And just to keep your memories alive until next year’s Market, this link will take you to the photos page of the Farmers’ Market Facebook site (although two Salem Winter Markets are set for Nov. 22 at 3 pm and Dec. 19 at 1 pm, indoors at 217 Essex Street).

Older Entries Newer Entries