Salem Literature Festival

The Salem Literature Festival

From March 27th through March 29, Salem, Massachusetts will take the weekend to celebrate the literary arts with author readings, writing workshops, open mics, word-game tournaments, parties, and more.

Events are being held all over town including: Hamilton Hall, the Salem Athenaeum, Cornerstone Books, Front Street Cafe, The Old Town Hall and an handful of other places. You can meet authors, learn how to hone your skills, see plays, read, write or listen to poetry, attend a tribute, play Scrabble, even make your own paper.

One of the best parts of this lit-fest is that most of the events are free.  Hopefully my writing will improve a bit so you will keep reading this site faithfully

For more great info on the Salem Literature Festival check out their site at SalemLitFest.com.

The Main Event: Spring Fling vs. Spring Equinox Celebration

In this corner the veteran wearing the light green and white striped trunks, The Spring Fling!

Salem Spring Fling

On March 21st, Salem Massachusetts will host the second annual SPRING FLING: A GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS sponsored by Magic Hat at Old Town Hall in the center of this beautiful, historic seaport. The Festival, which is fashioned after the Bacchanalia – a religious festival in honor of the wine god Dionysus or, as the Romans called him, Bacchus – will kick New Englanders out of a long hibernation and jump start Spring by indulging in the finest wines, craft beers and mouth watering food from North Shore restaurateurs.

This modern day version – Spring Fling – will feature a tasting of over 50 fine wines and international and domestic craft beers from Magic Hat, Ipswich, Cape Ann, and Harpoon. Wine professionals will be on hand with an assortment of vino from the US, Europe, South Africa, South America and Down Under. Truly a party fit for Bacchus!

Salem Restaurants such as The Old Spot, Finz, Sixty2 on Wharf, Rockafellas, The Lobster Shanty, AJ King Artisan Bakers, Cafe Grazziani, The Upper Crust Pizzeria, Gulu Gulu and more will tickle and tantalize your palate with delectable culinary delights! North Shore Artists will be offering an eclectic variety of art to please your eye and warm your home! Local favorite, Machine 475 will be performing live. Free chair massages provided by Living Well.

The Spring Fling is on Saturday March 21st from 1-4 at The Old Town Hall, tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

And in this corner… the new comer Spring Equinox Celebration to benefit the new playground on Salem Common.

Parents United of Salem (we never hear of them either, but apparently they have been working for a new playground on the Common for about 2 years now) is inviting you to their upcoming Spring Equinox Celebration, to benefit the new Playground on Salem Common. Partygoers will gather at historical Hamilton Hall from 7 to 10 p.m. on the first Saturday of spring, March 21, to sample food and drink from local merchants and bid on an array of auction items. Local jazz trio Bob Kendall & Friends will provide a perfect musical backdrop for munching and mingling and making springtime merry.

Wine tastings from Salem Wine Imports and Market Wine & Spirits; and beer offerings from Boston’s Sam Adams, Salem Beer Works, and fellow North Shore brewers Cape Ann Brewing Company (Fisherman’s Brew) and Mercury Brewing Company, which will provide non-alcoholic Mercury Soda in addition to its celebrated Ipswich Ale. Steve’s Market will supply water. Food will be provided by Sixty2 on Wharf, New England Meat Market, New England Soup Factory, Rockafellas, Salem Beer Works, and Upper Crust. Ben & Jerry’s, Blue Ribbon Bakery, the Hawthorne Hotel, Jacqueline’s Gourmet Cookies, and Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie will offer sweets.

Next door to the ballroom, attendees will bid on everything from bakery tours to history tours, paintings to parties, and loads of lessons – Spanish, Italian, skating, home staging, and more. Big ticket items, including one week in a New Hampshire ski condo and box seats to a Red Sox/Yankees game at Fenway Park, will be auctioned in the ballroom by local parent Max Burbank. All proceeds from the auction and ticket sales will benefit the new  playground.

The Spring Equinox Celebration is on Saturday March 21st from 7-10pm at Hamilton Hall, tickets are $30 each or $50 per couple, PUS members get a 50% discount.

Let’s get ready to Rumble!

You will notice that some of the local restaurants are staying neutral or double dipping but our main factions are once again squaring off against each other.  I suppose if you were so inclined and wanted to drop $55 you could attend the Spring Fling in the afternoon and then the Spring Equinox Celebration in the evening.  Lets face it though, if these events were spaced out by a week or maybe two more people would go to both and it would be a win for us and a win for them.

Latest Line

Like every good Vegas price fight there has to be some betting odds.  What do you think, who will come out on top?  Where are you willing to spend your money, on our veteran the Spring Fling or the new kid Spring Equinox Celebration?

TheSalemInsider.com Photo Contest – Contest deadline is Sunday at 11:59pm get all the details including info on our great prize pack here.

Mayors Night Out – We ran into her honor the other night having an Italian Ice and she reminded us to join her Friday from 5 -7 for some drinks and apps as she kicks off Heritage Days

Heritage Days - Tons of activities going on through out the city.  Check out their complete listing here.

Salem Arts Association and Aepril Schaile present The ART of Bellydance -  Saturday, August 2nd from 1pm to 2pm on Artists Row

Music

Friday August 1st

• * Entrain (rock, blues, calypso, zydeco, jazz and funk) free – @ Derby Wharf by the Friendship
• TBA @ Bangkok Paradise
• Demons Alley / Sins of America (rock) @ Dodge Street
• Los Sugar Kings (mambo-salsa dance party 9:30pm) @ Edgewater Cafe
• DJ Ondrej! (house, trance 8pm) @ Gulu Gulu
• Three Toad Sloth (rock 8pm) @ The Lobster Shanty
• Tom Pittman @ The Lyceum
• Traditional Irish Music (6-9pm) DJ Lost Daze (dance, pop, hip-hop 10pm) @ O’Neill’s
• The Spinz (dance, rock, pop, 80′s) @ Rockafellas
• Matt Tentindo (singer / guitar) @ Spirit’s at 300 Derby
• Night Owls Band @ (8-11:30pm) Strombergs

Saturday August 2nd

• TBA @ Bangkok Paradise
• Taboot  (Phish cover band) @ Dodge Street
• DJ Zati (10pm) @ Fresh Taste of Asia
• DJ John (8pm) @ Gulu Gulu
• Lee Harvey @ The Lobster Shanty
• The Merge  @ The Lyceum
• Traditional Irish Music (6-9pm) DJ Cee Block (dance, pop, hip-hop 10pm) @ O’Neill’s
• New Life  (dance, rock, pop, 80’s) @ Rockafellas
• Mystafine @ (8-11:30pm) Strombergs

Movies

Cinema Salem will be showing:

The Mummy: Tomb of the dragon emperor (PG-13)
Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 12:05, 2:30, 5:00,  7:30 and 9:50

The Dark Knight (PG-13)
Friday, Saturday & Sunday at  11:45 AM, 3:15, 6:45 and 10:00

X-Files: I want to believe (PG-13)
Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 11:30 AM, 2:00, 4:20, 7:00 and 9:20

Insider Picks

You know how we roll over here, if it’s free it’s for me.  So Friday take yourself down to the Wharf and check out Entrain – you have nothig to loose it’s free and it’s early. That gives you plenty of time to grab some dinner and check out The Spinz at Rockafellas.  We’ve heard varing opinions of them (if you know something we don’t drop us a comment) so get in before they charge a cover and if it sucks head to the Shanty to enjoy the good weather and fun tunes put down by Three Toad Sloth.  Saturday if the weather is agreeable, enjoy some of what Heratage Days has to offer then go visit our friend DJ Cee Block for some Saturday night booty shakin.

Thankfully for you I have just what you need – an all day long music fest.

Witchstock

We wrote about Witchstock a few months back but wanted to remind you now that they have all their events finalized.

Witchstock is large-scale free, non-profit, all ages, outdoor music festival held right here in our very own Salem Willows Park Amphitheater on Saturday July 5th from 2pm-10pm.  And continuing festivities from 10pm till close over at Dodge Street.

In addition to eight great rock, alternative, reggae, funk, hip-hop, electronica, jazz, and soul bands (many from around here) there will be plenty of family friendly things to do like free face-painting, temporary tattoos, stuff for kids and the kid in all of us.

For the full line-up and to get any other information about this great event check out the Witchstock myspace profile.

The weather might have been chilly Saturday afternoon but the band was hot, playing a mix of salsa and jazz that had everybody on the front steps of the Old Town Hall tapping to the music. People young and old brought their chairs, grabbed some food, ice cream and coffee and gathered in Derby Square for the first performance of this years festival.

Juan’s outstanding violin and vocals were backed up by some great musicians playing an interesting mix of viola, cello, base, sax, trombone, guitar, percussion, and keyboards. If you missed this fun energy filled set you can hear some tunes on his myspace page. Chavez’s band will be a hard act to follow and if the turnout was any indicator of future events, plan to get there early.

The only downside to this out door free event was the proliferation of unsupervised children running around yelling and constantly pestering the onlookers and band alike. At one point it got so bad the band leader mentioned it between songs. We love free cultural events but if pet owners can keep their dogs on a leash certain parents should take a lesson from them. (End of tangent.)

Salem’s history with Jazz

Most people are unaware that Salem used to host many Big Bands during the golden age of Jazz and Swing. The Salem Willows once was home to the Charleshurst Ballroom, now the Willows Casino. When jazz greats like Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong would tour, they would do a few feature nights in major cities and supporting nights in smaller venues. Ballrooms like Mosleys on the Charles in Dedham and Charleshurst in the Salem Willows were just as important as the Coconut Grove in Boston.

Back in the Twenty’s Boston was much further away than it is now. Luckily for Salem, Charlie Shribman who operated a chain of ballrooms in New England and handled bookings for Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and other bands, owned the Charleshurst Ballroom. In the summer of 1927 the Duke played nine performances at the Ballroom along with a variety of other top musicians throughout the years.

2008 Festival Schedule

The 2008 Salem Jazz and Soul Festival will continue through the summer with three different locations concluding with a blowout weekend at the Willows. Make sure to swing by and enjoy some of the bands. Free music this good doesn’t come around that often.

Derby Square

June 14th 5-7PM
Zach Hillyard Band

July 12th 5-7PM
Paulo Stagnaro

August 9th 5-7PM
Manami Morita

August 10th 1-3PM
The Nat Simpkins Band

Museum Place Mall at the Fountain

August 10th 2-4PM
Boston Horns

Salem Willows

Aug. 15, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The Dan King Band

Aug. 16, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Ken Clark Ogan Trio
Brothers from Another Planet
Parker Wheeler Blues Project
The Mystics
Los Sugar Kings

Aug. 16, Noon – 4:00 p.m.
Eric Reardon and the Juke Joint All-Stars at
Hobbs’ Juke Joint

Aug. 17, 1-4 p.m.
Follow Hymn Gospel Choir
Marty Rowen and Last Call for Blues

]]> http://www.thesaleminsider.com/2008/05/12/salem-jazz-and-soul-festival/feed/ 2 http://www.thesaleminsider.com/2008/02/11/chocolate-ice-sculpture-recap/ http://www.thesaleminsider.com/2008/02/11/chocolate-ice-sculpture-recap/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:54:14 +0000 Glen Hughes http://www.thesaleminsider.com/2008/02/11/chocolate-ice-sculpture-recap/ Salem’s 6th Annual Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival went pretty much as predicted with the weather playing a major role in its outcome. This year it was warm with intermittent snow and rain. Even through the poor weather conditions we were able to grab some photos. You can blame mother nature for the dilapidation of the ice.

This sculpture in front of the PEM was by far the best

due to the weather many sculputures like this one in front of New Civilitea met an untimely demise

We photographed all the sculptures and will get them up on our flickr page shortly.

I’ve seen the sculptures for a few years now, it’s a total crap shoot due to weather. Hopefully it will be cold and dry so the ice can survive a few days.

As for the chocolate, if you have a sweet tooth you will be in heaven.

According to the Chamber of Commerce press release:

The Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem Main Streets and local retailers, restaurants and businesses will host the 6th annual Salem’s So Sweet, Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival, February 8- 14th. The festival’s focus will continue to be on decadent chocolate, sparkling ice sculptures and Valentine’s Day retail. The festival is free for all to attend

The whimsical ice sculptures can be found at 15 locations throughout downtown Salem, and Pickering Wharf on Saturday, February 9th & Sunday, February 10th. Local merchants, restaurants and attractions sponsor ice Sculptures. Designs for this years’ ice sculptures include Sophia Peabody Hawthorne, a bride, a witch, a child reading a book, a teapot, and the Salem Waterfront Hotel.

In addition to the free temporary art in the down town area you can pick up a “golden ticket” and be eligible to win a gift basket containing swag from many of the participating shops.

Calendar of Events

Friday, February 8, 6.30 p.m.
Chocolate & Wine Tasting at Hamilton Hall

Saturday, February 9 – All Day
Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival – Chocolate samples, events and promotions at participating businesses.
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Red Cross “Give From the Heart” Blood Drive in Old Town Hall Free chair massages for blood donors by Body and Soul Massage and Wellness Center.

Sunday, February 10 – All Day – Salem’s So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival – Chocolate samples, events and promotions at participating businesses

Thursday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day

Chocolate & Wine Tasting
Friday, February 8: 6.30-8.30 p.m.
Hamilton Hall, 9 Chestnut St., Salem. $20.00 Admission
Tickets for Sale at Salem Chamber of Commerce, 265 Essex Street, at the door or by calling 978.744.0004.

A Special Note

A few years ago one of theSalemInsider.com’s frequent contributors was involved in a bad motorcycle accident and required over 40 units of blood. If it wasn’t for the great care he received and the available blood, he would not be with us today. Many people need blood. This Saturday a wonderful way for you to help your neighbor is to give blood at the old Town Hall. It’s quick, relatively painless and a simple way for you to do something helpful for others. Who knows, someday you might be the person in need.