The Salem Inn Blog

I'm Baaa-ack.

2010-07-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I've been waylayed for awhile whilst wearing the decorative painting hat. First it was two shows at Summer Theatre at Salem at Salem State College painting sets, and now working at St. Andrew's Nursery School in Marblehead creating murals of birds, animals, and sky in their charming schoolrooms.

While working on the sets, I met and worked with some very talented people and was very impressed with what Salem has to offer by way of local theatre. Right now at Summer Theatre at Salem, located at Salem State College is Into the Woods by Steven Sonheim, a musical about what happens after "happily ever after."

Thurs-Saturdays, 7:30 pm
Sundays, 2 pm
Tickets: http://www.salemstatetickets.com/
or 978-542-7555
(Ask about our local chamber of commerce discounts by phone.)

If you simply must have more Sondheim, Marblehead Little Theater will be showing a cabaret revue. Mark your calendar now for Marblehead Little Theatre’s Side-By-Side-By-Sondheim, a tribute to composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, which will come to 12 School Street August 6-8 and 13-15. Show times are 8 p.m. with an additional show on both Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Griffen Theatre also has several events approaching as well-
The Return of Kid Prov! Kids on Stage, hosted by the always funny Erik Rodenhiser. My kids really enjoyed this the last time around, and this time the proceeds are being donated to a good cause.

July 31st at The Griffen Theatre, 7 Lynde Street Salem.

Join Erik Rodenhiser on stage at The Griffen Theatre for some fun and laughs. Kids get the chance to show off their stuff with improvisational games and scenes like "slide show" and "kids as props.". Hosted by Erik Rodenhiser. Don’t miss it, reserve tix today.

Two shows: 4pm, ages 4- 12, and 7pm,ages 12-18

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 for teens, and $8 for kids.

Tickets, call 978 825 0222, or email griffentheatre@gmail.com

A portion of the proceeds will benefit “Inexhaustibly for Anya, bring Anya home” Keri Cahill’s cause. For more info on this cause, visit bringanyahome.org.

On a different note (so to speak), August brings the final concert of the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival. The SJSF is recreating and renewing the vibrant jazz scene from the 1920's, when Duke Ellington and other big band musicians played concerts at the Salem Willows seaside park. The culmination of the SJSF is a weekend long concert featuring live music, music classes, a beer garden, and a crafts fair, all at Salem Willows Park. Definitely a show not to be missed. But just in case you can't make it or just can't wait, the SJSF also has smaller concerts throughout the summer outside the historic old town hall. On Saturday, August 10, Jazz violinist Ben Powell will be playing.

See ya around town!

Coming Home to Roost

2010-05-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

roOst

Urban Country Design

40 Front Street

Salem, MA

Kate Leavy's creative and outgoing personality has come home to Roost in Salem. Her nest at 40 Front Street is lined with carefully chosen design books, candles, pillows, and other home goods, and demonstrates her and husband Jamie Metsch's flair for combining, among other new and retro styles, "old farmhouse" with "repurposed industrial" to created a warm, funky, and nostalgic environment. For a very modest price, she and Jamie will share these treasures with you. They are also not just interested in sharing these items, however. They want to invite you to share their space whether it's to shop or just visit and relax on the comfy couch and read a magazine.

Kate Leavy, co-owner of roOst

"We specifically waited until after October to open," Kate told me regarding the opening of their shop, Roost, Urban Country Design, last fall. "We wanted the people of Salem to know we were here for them." For those of you not in the know, this refers to the calm after the Halloween madness when the residents of Salem dare to take to the downtown streets again. "For us, success is creating an environment where community is important," Kate added.

And successful they have been. Part of this success is due to Kate's presence at the shop, which is her home away from home. After working for years in restaurant management, and then as a spa manager in Beverly, Kate was searching for something new. Not only that, after a summer of reading, thinking, and creating jewelry, her husband told her to get a job. She was on her way to a job interview at Pottery Barn for which she would have been a shoe-in, had a change of heart, and canceled the appointment. She came home and told Jamie that she was going to open Roost. Thirty days later, Roost, with its warm colors, chalk-graffitied walls, and charming tchotchkes was ready to open.

Most of the wares, letterpress to hand-screened cards, organic soaps and body products, bath linens, jewelry, indoor gardening supplies, are under $20, making this a wonderful place to pick up a last-minute gift. They occasionally have funky old furniture for sale too, again reflecting their urban country chic. Kate has reined in her willingness to sell all of the furniture however. "I used to sell the display furniture. Then everything ended up on the floor."

Stay tuned for part two - Kate and Jamie are opening a second shop next door called The Beehive. For now all I'll tell you is that the Beehive should prove to be Roost's sassy younger sibling.

The Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea Weekend Festival

2010-05-19T05:39:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, grab the family (or not!) and check out the special events at the Peabody Essex Museum. The PEM is hosting a weekend festival that celebrates their current epic exhibit, Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea, May 22-23. And don't forget if you're a Salem resident, the Peabody Essex Museum is always free!

Demonstrations
Maya Dugouts
Boat builder Wade Smith reconstructs a large-scale, speculative model of a dugout canoe based on ancient Maya designs.

Guatemala Maya Sawdust Carpet
Master artist Ubaldo Sanchez creates an alfombra from hand-dyed sawdust, rice, dried beans and flowers on the Atrium floor. Help make the border!

Dance
Grupo Awal Noon and 3 pm
Young troupe members represent the Maya culture of Guatemala through folk dances, dress and cultural traditions.

Performances
Puppet Theater 1:15 and 4 pm
Gustavo Boada and members of the dance troupe Grupo Awal perform the Maya creation story - El Popol Vuh - with life-size puppets.

Story Time
Rain Player 2 pm
A boy named Pik challenges the Maya god of rain to a game of pok-a-tok - a cross between soccer and basketball - to avert a drought.

Film
Breaking the Maya Code 4:45-6:45 pm
Based on the best-selling book by Michael Coe, Breaking the Maya Code traces the epic quest to unlock the secrets of the script across 200 years, nine countries and three continents.

Art activities, docent-led gallery tours, presentations are included with museum admission. For reservations and a full schedule of events visit pem.org.

Thanks to Kate Fox of Destination Salem for this blog post.

www.northshoredish.com

2010-05-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

North Shore Dish is a great website. A lot of care and honesty has gone into researching and writing reviews of many of the North Shore's restaurants, markets, cafes, and, yes, farms. If you are visiting Salem, this is one-stop shopping to decide where you want to eat. I highly recommend it and kudos to North Shore Dish for a job well done.

Do you know your dish?

Upcoming Theatre Events in Salem, MA

2010-05-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE OF A CHANGING SALEM

Sunday, May 16, 1 PM- 2 PM

The Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette St., Salem

Members of the Salem Writer’s Group present readings from this original collection of memories, recollections, and reminiscences about Salem, its history, and the road before ahead. Reading from 1:00 PM-2 PM, tickets are $10.

“Personal Perspectives” is a product of the Writers’ Group that meets twice a month at the Council on Aging, and it’s also the product of decades of memories and reflection from local senior citizens. As writer Regina Ruscio Camarda says in the foreword, “This book contains 111 pages of never-to-be-forgotten true stories that we, mostly octogenarians, have lived through and recorded for posterity.”

Books will be for sale at the event.

FRANCES STERNHAGEN

READS TENNESSEE BY ROMULUS LINNEY

5 PM, May 23rd

Salem Theatre Company, 90 Lafayette Street

Two-time Tony Award winning actress Frances Sternhagen will come to the downtown Salem on May 23rd to give a special performance to benefit the Salem Theatre Company. Ms. Sternhagen and the Salem Theatre Company's artistic director, John Fogle will present an adapeted performance of Tennessee by Romulus Linney. The show is at 5 PM and tickets can be purchased online for $75.00 each at www.salemtheatre.com.

Ms. Sternhagen, a well-known presence on stage, television and film, has received two Tony Awards (nominated for five), two Obies, two Drama Desks, has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and received the Helen Hayes Tribute in 2007. Aside from the stage, she is most familiar to some audiences for her television roles as Bunny McDougal (Trey's mother) on HBO's Sex and the City, Kyra Sedgwick's mother Willa Mae Johnson on The Closer, and as Cliff Claven’s mother on Cheers.

Sternhagen made her Broadway debut in 1955 as Miss T. Muse in The Skin of Our Teeth, and has appeared in more than 400 plays including on Broadway: The Good Doctor (Tony), The Heiress (Tony), Equus, On Golden Pond (Drama League Medal), Seascape, Steel Magnolias, Mornings at Seven, The Foreigner, Grownups, Angel; Off-Broadway: Driving Miss Daisy, The Admirable Bashville (Obie and Clarence Derwent Award), The Pinter Plays (Obie), The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, Talking Heads, The Exact Center of the Universe, and Long Day's Journey Into Night.

In 1967, Sternhagen made her film debut in Up the Down Staircase, and was featured in The Mist, Raising Cain, Doc Hollywood, Misery, Outland, Starting Over, and Hospital. In addition to her recurring television roles on Sex and the City, The Closer and Cheers, Sternhagen has also appeared as Millicent Carter on ER, as well as Law & Order, Tales from the Crypt, among others.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to experience Broadway right here in Salem, and to support and celebrate one of our community’s most dynamic artistic and cultural organizations,” said LaParl.

JIMMY HIGGINS: A LIFE IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT

A new play written by and featuring Harlan Baker

Directed by Christopher Price

Saturday May 22^nd at 7:30p.m and Sunday May 23^rd at 4 p.m.

The Griffen Theatre

7 Lynde Street

Set on the eve of the 1960 presidential race, Jimmy Higgins is being interviewed by a college student about his life. Higgins recounts his days as a newspaper boy in Sandusky Ohio during the First World War, his meeting with Eugene Debs and other radicals opposed to American participation in the war, his experiences in the LaFollette campaign for president in 1924 and his experiences a labor reporter covering the union organizing drives of tenant farmers and auto workers in the 1930s.

Baker is an adjunct lecturer for the theatre department for the University of Southern Maine where he has been teaching for the past 24 years. He is a former member of the Maine legislature, where he served on the Joint Standing committee on Labor.

"Jimmy Higgins" has long stood for the name of the rank-and-file union and socialist activist.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the box office or by calling 978-825-0222.

For more information go to www.harlanbaker.com

The Ropes Mansion and Garden, 318 Essex Street, Salem, MA

2010-05-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Ropes Mansion was filmed as Alison's house in the movie Hocus Pocus

This is another little-known jewel in Salem, right across the street from the Curwen House of the Salem Inn. The Ropes Mansion, a stark white beauty, was built in 1727 in the Georgian style. The Georgian Style, named for the four King Georges of England, was based on classical Roman architecture that was sparked by the discoveries of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Nero's Dome. The house was renovated in 1894 in the Colonial Revival style, a nationalistic response to the centennial of the Revolution. The house was also moved back from the street. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is owned and maintained by the Peabody Essex Museum. The house is closed to the public but the gardens are open year-round.

The Ropes Mansion once housed three generations of Salem's Ropes family. The house was built for Samuel Barnard, a merchant. In 1768, Judge Nathaniel Ropes, Jr., purchased the house from Barnard's nephew. The Ropes family then inhabited the house until 1907, when the house was given to the Trustees of the Ropes Memorial for public benefit.

The house is considered to be one of the most haunted in Salem. Nathaniel Ropes was an unpopular Loyalist judge and died of smallpox whilst his house was being stoned by a rabble outside in 1774. His wife Abigail burnt to death after her dress caught fire from the fireplace in 1839. Both are said to haunt the house.

The Ropes Mansion, seen from the garden

The garden was designed and laid out in 1912 by John Robinson, in a style that would have been an appropriate match to the Colonial Revival style of the house. It is a formal garden, with a symmetrical layout of curving paths that ring a central sundial. There is a full-time gardener who maintains the impeccable grounds and grows an astounding array of flowers. Roses, dahlias, delphinium, and hydrangea, to name a few.

There are benches throughout the garden, and a giant beech tree to sit under. It is the ideal place to sit and contemplate, read, or walk with a loved one. Kids are welcome here and they love the stocked koi pond. The garden is open year-round and is free.

One of the many pathways. The stone edifice is the First Church of Salem, a Universalist Unitarian church built in 1836

Upcoming Music in Salem

2010-05-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

A quick reminder of some of the upcoming musical events coming up in Salem:

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival

SJSF/Berklee Summer Series

May 8, 2010, 5-7 PM

Derby Square, FREE, rain location inside Museum Place Mall
ANNETTE PHILIP (jazz, fun, experimental)

Annette Philip is an Indian vocalist, composer/arranger, recording artist and choir conductor who thrives on experimenting with the human voice. In 2003, she co-founded Artistes Unlimited (AU) in New Delhi, India, a performing arts ensemble, promoting collaboration among musicians in the city. With a vast repertoire spanning genres such as jazz, rock, R&B, funk, acappella, Gospel, Indian and Western Classical, Sufi and folk music, AU is now India’s largest and most diverse youth platform for musicians, with a rotating line up of over 250 artistes.

Annette is currently recording and performing with her own jazz fusion ensemble, “The Annette Philip Quintet”, now gearing up for the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival in May 2010. She is also touring with the Boston-based vocal group “Women of the World,” as well as working with a big band called "The Makanda Project."

Map of Downtown Salem

NORTHSHORE FOLK FESTIVAL

This year Salem’s Historic Old Town Hall will host the festival on Saturday May 15^th, 2010
from 11AM until 9PM.
Tickets are $10/$14 at the door. Ticket orders within 5-7 days of the event will be held at the door.
Children under 10 yrs get in for free!

There will be 17 acts of up-and-coming new musicians as well as old favorites.

The Old:

Poor Howard Stith

and The New:

Erik Hartley
Have a listen at this link: just gorgeous!!
Do not miss this!

Cafe Valverde, Not Your Average Joe

2010-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Owner Eleni Valverdi flanked by assistant caffeine suppliers

Cafe Valverde is not where you find your average joe. Cup of joe, that is. Eleni and Nelson Valverde, the owners of Salem's newest coffee shop, are coffee experts. The shop has been open a few weeks now and hopefully will give Starbucks (which I occasionally refer to as Charbucks) a run for their money.

Nelson is from Bolivia, where the coffee grows sweet and mellow. This is a flavor profile regarding Bolivian coffee that I borrowed from the Roaster's Club website:

Aroma: melon
Brightness: bright and clean
Flavor: sweet, with hazelnut and chocolate
Body: silky and well-balanced
Notes: Higher Ground’s Bolivian Caranavi is a complex and flavorful coffee, grown high up in the De Montaña Co-op. Light and refreshing on the palate, the cup features caramel and milk chocolate undertones, a fruity aroma, and a smooth, nutty finish.

Hazelnut? Chocolate? Smelling like a melon? This sounds like my idea of heaven. I enviously think that people who hail from coffee-growing countries have coffee flowing in their veins.

Eleni and Nelson began their coffee adventures in 2004 as self-taught artisan roasters, with a wholesale coffee importing company called Invalsa Coffee. They have worked hard to develop relationships with small coffee farmers in Bolivia, where the coffee is grown on small farms high in the tropical Yungas region. They regularly travel to Bolivia where they taste coffees, buy them, and ship them back to West Newbury, MA, where Invalsa Coffee is located. The coffee is sold online to restaurants, catering companies, and to places as far away as Australia and Antarctica. (It makes sense that penguins like a hot cup of coffee; I would too if I lived there). To be delivered as fresh as possible, the beans are roasted in small batches right before being shipped. They are lightly roasted, as Bolivian coffees' delicate nuances can be lost by over-roasting.

Nelson Valverde "cupping" in Colombia at the Olympics of coffee, the Cup of Excellence contest

Nelson travels regularly to Bolivia, where his brother Jorge lives and handles the exporting end. Nelson is also an international judge in the "Cup of Excellence" contests that occur throughout the coffee-growing world. The Cup of Excellence is a strict competition that selects the best coffee produced in that country for that particular year . These winning coffees are chosen by a select group of national and international "cuppers". The final winners are awarded the prestigious Cup of Excellence and sold to the highest bidder during an internet auction. Nelson will soon be going to Guatemala to participate, and travels to Cup of Excellence contests about 6 times a year.

Bolivia's Cup of Excellence

Eleni is now running Cafe Valverde here in Salem. When I asked, why Salem? She told me that she and Nelson had conducted an exhaustive search over two years to find just the right location, and that Salem had the right combination of elements. A busy, bustling city with enough people who have a palate sophisticated enough to appreciate what Cafe Valverde has to offer.

The cafe is warm and inviting and they sell all manner of coffee drinks, teas, smoothies, and baked goods. The staff is very friendly. They have free Wi-Fi. They will be roasting their coffee beans right on the premises soon, and the aroma will be wafting down the Essex Street mall where you can sit outside at the bistro tables in front and in the cool alley next door. Any ingredients they can buy locally, such as milk and chocolate, they do. Having tried their coffee several times, I can definitely attest to how delicious it is, and how it would be tough to go back to...what's that place called? I can't remember.

LOVE YOUR MOMMA!

2010-05-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

Love Your Momma!!

(Bold lettering, largest typeface available, exclamation points, get the idea?)

For Mother's Day, treat your Mom to a wonderful package at the Salem Inn. She and a guest will stay two nights in a jacuzzi room and receive one of the fabulous spa treatments from LivingWell, the best spa in Salem. She'll wake up to the smell of a dozen gorgeous roses, and a $50 gift certificate to the acclaimed Gioia Italian Ristorante or the jazzy Rockafella's Restaurant will guarantee a wonderful night out on the town. If you are a mom, treat yourself! What mom doesn't deserve some pampering?

(If anyone wants to babysit my kids while I take advantage of this one, let me know).

$399 plus tax for Monday-Thursday; $425 + tax for Friday-Sunday.

Modern Millie Consignment Shop

2010-04-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

A slideshow of Modern Millie's first fashion show benefit, 9 to 5, for the Northeast Animal Shelter in 2007. So much fun!

MODERN MILLIE

103 WASHINGTON STREET

SALEM, MA

Modern Millie is a boon to those of us who love clothes, to those of us who don't know much about clothes and hate to shop (moi), and those who consider clothing to be the ultimate form of self expression.

Christine Robidoux, owner of Modern Millie's

Modern Millie, now four years old, is a consignment store on Washington Street in downtown Salem. Owner Christine Robidoux named the shop after the movie Thoroughly Modern Millie, in which the main character sets her sights on marrying for money and not love, apparently making her "modern". (Still sounds somewhat current). The movie is set in the 1920's and was made in the 1967. According to Christine, there were obvious fashion influences from the 60's overlaying the intended 1920's couture.

And that, says Christine, embodies her mission at the consignment store: to combine vintage clothing from the 1970's and earlier with trendy modern clothing. So the fashion possibilities and combinations range from being able to buy hip clothing at a reasonable price to being able to explore fashion as an art at a reasonable price. And the great thing about Modern Millie is that you don't have to go it alone: the women that work here know their stuff. Christine has a self-designed degree from UMass in costume history and design, and any of the staff will give their opinion and help you to find just the right thing to wear- what suits your style, your body, your eye color. This is the personalized service that brings customers, including me, back again and again.

Modern Millie's window displays make for delectable eye candy

The clothes change daily, so you can too. Modern Millie has 800 consignors from which Christine carefully chooses what to carry. She also has many loyal customers, and this base got a big boost last year with her fashion show, The Clothes On Their Backs, a benefit held at the Hawthorne Hotel. The show had a unique flair as it was choreographed into scenes in which the models were actors as well, miming skits to music. The skits were funny, moving, sassy, and poignant on top of showing off Christine's skill as a fashion coordinator. The show was a fantastic success, and raised $20,000 for the Salem Mission homeless shelter. Christine produced the show without making a dime- the months of rehearsals and organization were a labor of love. Christine's following deservedly jumped after the wild success of the show, and she was nominated as "Businesswoman of the Year" for the Salem Chamber of Commerce last year.

An Unlikely Welcoming Committee

2010-04-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

As you enter the front hall of the Salem Inn, you might hear soft beeping and cheeping of seven zebra finches coming from the drawing room, or parlor, to your left. When this federalist-style home was built in 1834, this room was the entertainment center and would have showcased the occupants' finest furnishings. Ladies would have retired here after they had dined, while the men would have stayed behind in the dining room and socialized over stinky cigars and brandy.

Ladies gathering and chirping like finches.

The room plays much the same function now as it is a place to rest, enjoy the fire and some sherry, and visit. The beeping and cheeping are the welcoming song of the zebra finches (native to Australia) who have for so many years delighted Salem Inn guests. In fact, the birds have been there longer than anyone can quite remember. Dick and Diane, the owners, hazard a guess of 12 years. They started with about three or four finches in one cage, and the years in between have seen up to four cages full of finches, all descendants of the original birds. There are always one or two nests with eggs at any given time. When I peeked in the other day, someone had gotten a bit confused and laid her eggs in the food dish. Occasionally when Jenn, the general manager, cleans the cages, a little escape artist gets away and has to be caught with a designated finch-catching net.

A male zebra finch has bright orange cheeks

When the finches start outnumbering the hotel staff and guests, it's time to give some away. They have gone home with guests, housekeepers, and bird-lovers from Craig's List. So far, about 25 baby finches have found new homes. Since finches can live up to 15 years, some of these birds may be hanging out with their great-great-great (up to about 13 greats) grandparents.

The plainer female, who will compensate for a less-than-superior mate

by having bigger, stronger eggs with more nutrition inside

And here's an interesting bit of information: researchers conducted a study observing the effect of the zebra finch's song on dopamine reward circuits in its brain. The male bird has two different songs, one conducted in privacy potentially for practice and the other used to attract females. (I don't think they get any privacy at the Inn...) Surprisingly they found that the bird produced a response in the dopamine reward circuits when singing for a female but not in privacy.

Why would it be more enjoyable to serenade a partner than just to sing to yourself? Evolution can likely be credited for the positive chemical reaction that occurs in the male finch; if he enjoys singing to females, he is likely to do it more often and therefore attract more mates. It is no stretch to imagine that humans should have a similar response to activities that woo a potential mate. If you can’t stop making yourself look nice, putting on nice clothes or showing off your strength, you may well be stimulating the same brain circuitry that can drive dangerous addictions. Luckily, these evolution-favored behaviors are much safer than drugs. And given the proliferation of the finches at the Inn, lack of privacy hasn't hurt their song much.

The Old Spot

2010-04-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Kicking back on the Salem Trolley Tour

I'm back to the blog again as spring comes to Salem. Last week was taken up by organizing and participating in what is known in the travel industry as a "fam", or familiarization, tour for meeting planners to acquaint them with out lovely little city and its amenities that can accommodate conferences, reunions, weddings. We took the Salem Trolley tour, went through the House of the Seven Gables, visited the Witch Museum, as well as sampled really tasty food at Finz and Rockafellas. What struck me most about both the interactions between the visiting meeting planners and the vendors from different businesses in Salem was how unified Salem is as a community. Salem was presented as a diverse, interesting, cultured, and a really friendly place to visit. It made me want to live here. Oh, wait a minute...I do live here. I knew there was a reason.

Which brings me to my next blogging topic, one of my favorite spots to meet friends for a pint.

According to the Old Spot, I am "local colour", which is, to quote the owner, actually fancy talk for a regular. Located at 121 Essex Street, across from the Hawthorne Hotel, the Old Spot is an English pub with many beers to uphold that assignation.

And it looks and feels like an English pub: low benches with cushions and pillows surround low tables where people gather in groups for a pint and a meal. There is a fireplace and...only ONE TV!!! (Yay!) The wood is dark; so are many of the beers. They serve Guinness, shandies, black and tans. (Shandies are beer mixed with lemonade- eww, and black and tans are a stout mixed with a lighter lager. Black and tans are named after a paramilitary group sent into Ireland in the 20's from England to suppress the Irish. The Irish don't like the name for this drink).

The food is a mixture of pub fare with more modern and upscale food. You can order a traditional Cornish pasty- beef, carrots, potatoes, onions, and gravy inside a crust of flaky pastry, or something as nouveau cuisine as their mushroom salad: sautéed portobello, crimini, and button mushrooms, over arugula, with truffle vinaigrette and shaved parmesan. Traditional English fish and chips or grilled salmon. I have yet to try the desserts, but there is one I don't even have the courage to ask about- the spotted dick.

Which brings us to the name of the pub. The Old Spot is the name of the oldest pedigree of spotted pig in the world, from Gloucestershire, England. We like pigs in Salem- soon I will tell you about In a Pig's Eye, another local favorite bar/restaurant. And as an aside, my own person artistic path seems to be taking a detour into Piggy Land for some reason; my sketches of pigs have become like a personal diary. Let me know if you like them and I will publish more as I do them.

Piggies Flirting at the Salem Diner

Piggy Family Camping

Comedy at In a Pig's Eye

2010-04-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

In a Pig's Eye is a great bar, with a very loyal local following. With a warm, pubby atmosphere, it is a great place to come after walking along the harbor on a foggy spring night. And to catch some comedy at the same time? It doesn't get much better.

On the last two Sundays in April (18th and 25th)

In a Pig's Eye Restaurant

148 Derby Street

presents

"April's Fools"

A Three-Piece Suite of Comedy/Drama

Featuring Anne O'Neill, Lauren Ashly Suchecki, Jim Robinson and Georgette Beck

with Eric Reardon on Guitar

Doors open at 7:00

Show starts at 7:30

Tickets $10.00

Purchase at the Pig's Eye or call 978-741-4436

2010-03-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Local Color II: More North Shore Lore
presented by the Hamilton Hall Ladies' Committee

Thursday, April 1, 11 AM at Hamilton Hall, 9 Chestnut Street, Salem

Jim MacAllister

Hamilton Hall, named for Alexander Hamilton, built by Samuel McIntire in 1805

During Jim MacAllister's 25 years of involvement with local history, he has been a relentless pursuer of the odd and little known fact, the colorful character, the unusual place or event. Jim will take the stage at Hamilton Hall to share some more of his favorite tales, from the absurd to the magnificent and everything in between, all culled from the annals of Essex County cities and towns.

Tickets may be purchased at Hamilton Hall or at the door the day of the lecture. Be sure to get there early as these lectures ALWAYS sell out.

Doors open and bullion will be served from 10:00 - 11:00.

Admission is $10.00 per person.

A Walk Through Salem - NOT Your Ordinary Guided Tour

2010-03-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Mr. Zac, our tour guide

I recently had the pleasure of having coffee with Chris Dowgin, author and illustrator of the book A Walk Through Salem. A resident of Salem for 18 years, he is as fascinating as his book, with an approachable personality, bohemian dress and hair, and a wide breadth of knowledge of Salem, history and psychology. (He also has a penchant for Cadbury bars and milk, like A Walk Through Salem's narrator, Mr. Zac).

A Walk Through Salem features recognizable buildings, people, and places in Salem, rendered in a whimsical, sketchy style. It is a genuine walking tour guidebook, and you can follow the trail and see the sites and sights on the tour.

However, this is not your ordinary guidebook. For Dowgin has created an alternative Salem that operates on many levels: physical, symbolic, archetypal. It lends itself to reading more than once to follow Dowgin's take on the classic fairytale structure, which as defined by professor Jack Zipes of the University of Michigan, “awaken(s) our regard for the miraculous condition of life and evoke(s) profound feelings of awe and respect for life as a miraculous process, which can be altered and changed to compensate for the lack of power, wealth, and pleasure that most people experience".

We begin our tour at the Unzipping Tree, in Salem Commons, and urged on by our gnome-like tour guide, Mr. Zac, we are encouraged to enter through the tree into another world. In this world, we meet the denizens of Salem we may have never noticed before: squirrels that talk, fish and pigs that fly...(what, you've never noticed them before? That's why you need this book. You're not paying attention.) Then getting back home proves to be the hardest part of all...

We visit some of Salem's most famous locations, such as the Lyceum, where Alexander Graham Bell gave his first public display of the telephone, but is now struggling to use his cell phone. Duke Ellington is playing at the Salem Willows, and the onion domes of the Saint Nicholas Church double as soft serve ice cream, when in season.

What I enjoyed most about this book was Dowgin's sense of wordplay and ironic humor. As the mom of two little would-be-sugar-addicts-if-I-let-them, this was my favorite page:

Chris will be giving a book signing at Spring Fling at Old Town Hall. There will be music, wine, beer, and food from merchants all over Salem. 6-9 PM; tickets $25 in advance, $30 at the door.

The book is also for sale at Pamplemousse, The Salem Inn, the Witch Museum, the Cat and the Fiddle, Remember Salem, the Awakening Guild, and can be purchased online at http://www.mr-zac.com/Buy.html.

The Gulu-Gulu Cafe- Salem Goes Funky

2010-03-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

The patio outside the Gulu-Gulu Cafe

The Gulu-Gulu Cafe (which means Glug-Glug, the drinking sound, in French) is situated on the pretty little park that is home to the Bewitched statue. The owners met each other in a cafe in Prague with the same name and have done a great job replicating a European flavor here in honor of the cafe where they also celebrated their wedding.

When the weather is fine, (soon to come, we hope), nothing beats sitting outside in Gulu-Gulu's patio seating and drinking a beer from their extraordinary beer menu. Except, perhaps, indulging in a healthy but delicious panini sandwich as well.

When the weather ain't so good, being inside the Gulu-Gulu ain't so bad. It is a gathering place for artists, musicians, and other People of Mixed Funkiness and Creativity. The space is open and big, but the warm wooden trim and cushy sofas make it feel cozy nonetheless. The art on the wall is for sale (and some if it is really, really good).

Apoidea by Glenn Church, for sale at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe

There is also music and movies to be had. Live music, open mic nights, and old movie nights are scheduled every week with other spicy goodies thrown in- March is Marchstache Month, so grow those handlebars and get ready to compete, or come to the end-of-the-month LGBT Teadance.

So all this is great fun, but let's not forget about the food and the staff. The menu consists of light meals such as crepes, sandwiches, and salads. The Gulu-Gulu does its best to buy locally so everything is as fresh as possible, and every meal I've had there has been good. I thought I'd died and gone to dessert heaven when I had the chocolate mousse cake the last time I was there. But be prepared to wait; in true European fashion, at the Gulu-Gulu eating is considered a social event and it can sometimes take awhile to get your freshly prepared meal.

The staff is as funky and friendly as the surroundings- piercings, tattoos- anything goes. Makes an artist like yours truly feel plenty welcome.

The Salem Diner- the Real Thing

2010-03-09T05:28:00.001-08:00

The Salem Diner has occupied its corner at 326 Canal Street since 1941, and is still going strong. If you want to "step back in time"- a phrase often associated with Salem's many historic attractions, the Salem Diner is the place to do it- without a theater, without a ticket, without a tour guide.

The Salem Diner is a Sterling Streamliner built by the J.B. Judkins Company of Merrimack Mass, and is only one of two remaining. The Sterling Streamliners were a line of customized, factory-built, “modernistic” diners manufactured in the 1930s and early 1940s. It is a favorite of locals as well as college students (Salem State is directly across the street).

Having eaten many omelets there, I can attest that the food and coffee are great. The waitresses are laid-back, friendly, and very accommodating. The coffee comes in thick white mugs and the food is delicious- when I returned to research this blog post, my eggs were done perfectly, the home fries crispy on the outside and creamy inside and my coffee mug was refilled with good black coffee.

They also serve lunch- BLTs, tuna sandwiches, as well as daily specials such as Yankee pot roast and spinach pie.

Directions from the Salem Inn: go left on Summer Street when you leave the Inn. Take your first left, and you will come to a major intersection. Take the second quick right and follow the signs for 1A south. After you pass the orange brick buildings of Salem State on your left, The Salem Diner will be on your right, turned sideways.

Salem Diner

326 Canal Street

Salem, MA

978-471-7918

Open daily 6-3

Sunday 7-2

The Salem Woods- Another Hidden Gem

2010-03-09T05:26:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself longing for some significant green space and think you need to travel out of Salem to find it, I'm going to let you in on a secret: the Salem Woods.

The Salem Woods are not easy to find unless you know they are there- they are quite well-hidden. They consist of a considerable tract of land (248 acres) and include several different ecosystems. The woods are home to red-wing blackbirds, turtles, geese, ducks, swans, beavers, frogs, and river otter, among other critters.

The 2.8 mile trail takes about an hour to hike. This looped trail will take you past birch groves, apple trees left from an old orchard, up and down rocky hills. The trail is fringed with beautiful golden grass and, at the apex of the loop, the view opens to the gorgeous marsh known as Thompson's Meadow, where you can overlook acres of unspoiled wetlands and hear the unmistakable call of red-wing blackbirds. My kids and I lay on our bellies one sunny spring day and peered over the cliff into the very clear water below, where we counted hundreds of turtles either swimming or sunning themselves, just as we were. It's also not unusual to find a cache of turtle eggs dug up and the shells left behind after someone had their dinner.

I have hiked the Salem Woods for years in all seasons, during the day, by moonlight, and it is always changing. The trails shift, the woods burn, different flowers are showing themselves off. There are creeks, marshes, fields of fern. If you are visiting and need a quiet break from the busier pace of downtown, or are a local who would like a respite, visit Salem Woods with some sturdy walking shoes.

Directions from the Salem Inn: when you exit the West House, go right on Summer Street. Take a left at the first set of lights and proceed down the ramp. Go left at the bottom of the ramp onto Bridge Street and then continue until the end of the street. Take a left onto Boston Street and continue until the end. Take a right onto Essex Street, which will turn into Highland Avenue. At the third light after this (you will pass Collins Middle School and North Shore Medical Center) turn left onto Willson Street. Proceed 0.25 mile past Salem High School and the Nathaniel Bowditch School to Olde Salem Green Municipal Golf Course on the right. The trail begins at the far end of the parking lot. If the golf course parking lot is closed or you fear you may be there past sunset (when they shut the parking lot gate), park at the High School. Walk to the road that exits the high school campus to your left and there is a trail that leads away from the road and up along the football field. Proceed past the field, down a wooded hill and you will be deposited by the trailhead.

America Now at Montserrat College of Art, Beverly

2010-02-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

Montserrat College of Art Gallery
23 Essex Street
Beverly, MA 01915
Phone: 978.921.4242 x1204

gallery@montserrat.edu

Alec Soth, Peter's Houseboat, Winona, MN, exhibition print

America Now

February 5 – April 10, 2010

The current show in Montserrat College of Art's main gallery is an extensive photography exhibit featuring the works of six technically skilled artists. It is called America Now, and the title reflects the subject with accuracy. The subjects have a variety of range: the poverty of urban South Philadelphia by Zoe Strauss. A slaughtered elk in the wilds of a winter aspen grove in Idaho by Laura McPhee. A trailer home in twilight, its reflecting insulation stained with the oncoming dusk while an electric reindeer blurs the image with a nod by Alec Soth. All the photographs have striking similarities despite the differences in subject. Stark, hard beauty links them all as well as a disenchantment with and decay of the American Dream. Loneliness grips the subjects and yet the photography shows an unflinching in-depth connection between photographer and subject, and this is literally a saving grace. Would that we all could look this hard at the country around us and find a sympathy and beauty this meaningful.

Laura McPhee, Sagebrush and Grass in an Irrigated Field, Fourth of July Creek Ranch, Custer County, ID, 2004, chromogenic print

Directions from the Salem Inn

Upon exiting the Inn, take a left on Summer St. Take your first immediate left and continue across the major intersection. (You should pass the post office on your right). Follow this street until you come to a four-way stop. Take a left on Hawthorne Blvd. (Rte 1A north). Follow 1A north into Beverly; this will take you across the Beverly-Salem bridge. Once in Beverly, the road forks into two main roads. Take the one on your right (Cabot St.) You will no longer be on Rte 1A. Follow Cabot Street into downtown Beverly and take a right at the Rte 22 sign. Montserrat's main building is about two blocks up on your right. The gallery is free.

2000 Words About Salem

2010-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to have a couple of friends visit last week. Jim, a fine writer and critical thinker, was kind enough to write a guest post for the Salem Inn Blog.

2000 Words About Salem

I’m embarrassed to say that up until a week ago, I had never been to Salem. Let me modify that, I had a business meeting there several years ago that lasted about two hours, but I had never been there just to relax and look around. I had never been to Salem to see Salem. Recently, thanks to the new economy, relaxing and looking around have become my favorite pastimes and I’m here to tell you that Salem is worth every valuable minute of your time.

Boston, my hometown, is a messy place to drive. The legendary traffic might gradually slow to a crawl on the interstate. A five-minute trip can become a forty-five minute curse, and you’ll never find out why. Parking is hard to find or expensive, sometimes both and never neither. In Salem, the locals think traffic is heavy when they get stuck at the same light twice. They have a point, and I’ve heard it gets much worse in the month of October, but I was up there recently during midweek and I can tell you, the lack of traffic alone made me feel like I was on vacation. It wasn’t rural calm. Nope, there’s plenty happening, people going here and there, obviously an industrious place with lots of restaurants and shops, things to do and lots of people doing them, maybe a delay when a parking lot empties, but traffic? Not a problem. And parking? Plentiful.

Truth be told, I had mixed feelings about Salem. It might seem impossible to have feelings about a place I had never been, but Salem is part of our national consciousness. Most of us learn at a very early age, before we are even capable of understanding, that Salem is that notorious colonial place where a real “witch hunt” took place. Foolish young girls playing on the fears and superstitions of an entire community claimed that they were cursed by some of the townspeople who they didn’t like. Religious extremism and group hysteria combined to drive people mad and blind them to their own hypocrisy while they sought scapegoats to purge themselves. The girls were eventually discredited, but not before several innocent people were “convicted” and hung for their “crimes.” Today, it seems impossible to imagine. And since I paid attention to history I asked myself, what was wrong with the people of Salem?

During the decades after the witch trials, New England grew into its heyday, a world-class center of industry, whaling, importing, exporting and fishing. Capitalizing on its own fine harbor, albeit small by later standards, Salem became one of New England’s wealthiest seaports, which was saying a lot. By 1790 it was the sixth largest city in America.

After the decline of New England’s industrial importance and the need for deeper and bigger harbors, Salem gradually became a cultural and financial backwater. A third class cousin to Boston which had already taken a back seat to New York, Salem would eventually realize that it could make money on its heritage, its wits and charm and on its historic shame. Through clever marketing, Salem became and is today the Halloween capital of the nation as if its witch trials bear a resemblance or are somehow related to our fastest growing costumed holiday. The entire month of October is taken up with a pasteurized, polished, well-publicized and fantastic illusion that has absolutely nothing and everything to do with Salem’s sordid past. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, I hear it’s quite a show.

Frankly, for me, it was a reason not to go. I am not a gawker. I don’t want to stare at the hideous. I am not a big fan of Halloween. Why would I go to that place? Of course, my denial of Salem, based on vague notions and faulty logic, was as silly as Salem’s promotion of itself. Perhaps Salem is to blame for me not knowing it, but the reality of Salem is far different from its image, and I’d say, far better.

We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon and checked into the Salem Inn, an historic brick structure of three adjoining townhouses which was originally owned by Captain Nathaniel West, one among hundreds of well researched and interesting Salem characters, himself a victim of a very public and particularly sordid divorce trial. Because of our national obsession with new and better, in many towns West’s townhouse would stand out as a unique historic feature. Not so in Salem. Perhaps it was the shame of the witch trials, but more likely it was the sheer magnitude of Salem’s wealth, whatever the case, Salem got this part of its historic preservation completely right. West’s house and history, although very fine and interesting, are just another dot on a thoroughly researched map of perhaps the finest historic district in the United States! The McIntire Historic District, so named because many of its premier examples are the work of Architect and Housewright, Samuel McIntire, is an area of over four hundred Federal era homes around the Inn that have been preserved and maintained, many in their original splendor. To be sure, some of these homes are museums, but by and large they are living, vibrant 21st century domiciles that do not reek of mold or dust. Salem is alive!

As if that weren’t enough, there are three other historic districts in Salem: Derby St., Lafayette St. and Washington Square. Although none of these districts are contiguous, Salem is so conscious of its heritage that when walking from one district to another you’ll be hard pressed to know when you’re out of an historic area. Homes are often and prominently labeled with construction dates, builder, homeowner and/or the trade or profession in which they worked.

Without consulting a guidebook, my wife and I began to get an idea of who these people were, what they did for a living and what kind of community Salem was, but unlike at an historic re-creation or in Boston, we were not being spoon-fed a scripted story, or conducted on a history trail that is burdened by the intensely modern city around it. With the help of a couple of brochures from the Inn’s supply, we imagined the streets, unchanged except for their surfaces, gauged the proximities, we spent the entire day on foot, and considered the tradesmen, whose lucrative work might have seemed hopelessly archaic except that the smells of the very same sea still fill the streets of Salem. And a tall sailing ship sits at one of its wharfs.

Not your typical coastal village with miniature streets, Salem grew up as a commercial hub, with wide avenues and a thriving commercial center, the place where the region’s great traders made their homes. These were not crusty old fishermen. They were young, educated, powerful, smart, handsome, and brave men. They were also despicable, cutthroat, scandalous and depraved men. In short, they were in some ways just like us, but they were more capable. They moved mountains of goods and resources by sea on sailing ships. They amassed great wealth. Walk around historic Salem, you’ll see where they lived, and guess what, all the sights are free. The traders already paid for it.

Before you exhaust yourself, check in at the Peabody Essex Museum. This will cost you a little bit of money, but it is well worth it. It is certainly one of the state’s finest museums. It is well-staffed. The curators and other personnel are professional and courteous; there is no barrage of info or herding. We saw one art exhibit and an artifact display, but I most enjoyed the Yin Yu Tang House, the premier exhibit in the museum’s permanent collection. First I want to point out that this house, an actual home built and lived-in in China up until 1980, is very aptly suited to the museum because of Salem’s interest in and preservation of its own old homes.

The Yin Yu Tang house was built around 1800 and was the continuous home of eight generations of the Huang family before being sold and transported in its entirety to Salem. The Huangs were shopkeepers and tradesmen, not the wealthy aristocrats of Salem, but still a respectable and financially secure family. What is most remarkable about the Huang family home are its dissimilarities to our own homes. It has doors and rooms and roofs and windows and stairways, but that’s about where the similarities end. This is like no place I have ever been. It is a literal and metaphoric door into another world. I could not have dreamed it up. I am not interested in spoiling it for you. Go. See it. Take your time. I’m going back.

We were only there for 26 hours, but somewhere in that timeline we drove to Winter Island, a small harbor island connected by a bridge on a very short manmade neck. In addition to a handful of homes, the island sports a roomy Victorian mansion home for wayward boys (I wonder what the recidivism rate is) and an oddly named Wakiki beach.

Next land mass over, at the Salem Willows the remnant of an old style amusement park seems to be growing a little wilder, a little less interesting for its honky-tonk entertainment value and more interesting for its truer recreational potential, which I think is as a seaside pedestrian park. When we were there, all the shops were shuttered for the winter. The park was snow covered, even the trees looked cold so we decided to stay in the car, but then I spotted a fox. After it went down the boat ramp to the beach, I followed it on foot from a considerable distance. Fortunately I had my camera with me. What’s cool is how easy it is to keep an eye on a fox on a beach where there are only rocks to hide behind. And if I stood still when he looked toward me, he couldn’t see me. Back home in Hyde Park, a coyote (we have a surprisingly large population) will slip out of view in seconds, if he feels like it. The fox had a mangy looking tail, which is a bit of a disappointment considering how luxurious a good fox tail can be, but just the idea that I was sharing the beach with a fox made me feel good, not so inescapably trapped in the urban. Looks like another place I’ll be seeing again.

Finally, and fittingly we stumbled on one of those incredible restaurants that plug away day after day serving a hundred or two people with very little fanfare but with a tremendous amount of grace and true class. It was an accident. One of us said she was hungry. We turned to read the menu on the storefront wall and the man walking in front of us stopped, held the door and practically ushered us in. His manner implied that there was no place else we could possibly be going. He was right. Red’s Sandwich Shop is just about the best restaurant I have ever found by accident. I never saw an ad, never read a word, never heard a review, a comment, a whisper or a clue. No sir. This was pure luck. It just so happens, I love sea bass, my wife does too. Seared sea bass, 6oz at least, cold beet and fennel salad on a bed of raddichio, a cup of unseasoned, perfectly cooked brown rice...$6.95 We’ll take two. No joke, Feb 18, 2010. $6.95 I wanted to order four and take two to go, but I decided not to indulge my greed. Even more amazing was that there were about eight other specials on a par with that one.

Their menu says that they won an award for the best breakfast in Salem for 23 consecutive years running and in fact there was a fellow diagonally across the aisle, an obvious regular, who ordered bacon and waffles, but I didn’t even care...the lunch could have been half as good for $6.95 and I’d go back.

Then we went home. Less than an hour away by car, around a gallon of gas, about 20 miles. I can do it on my bike in less than 90 minutes. Goodbye Salem. Hello Salem, now I know you’re there.

One more thing Salem, for ignoring you for all these years, I want to say I’m sorry and thank you for taking me back, no questions asked. Would you mind ditching that Halloween costume?

Love Spell

2010-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

This is Salem...and magick is practiced all around. Here is a spell that I cast in my youth, about 20 years ago, when I lived in California, with VERY surprising results: two people I worked with, one a straight man, and one a lesbian woman, and best friends with each other, fell in love with me (I know this because they professed it over and over)--needless to say, my true love du jour was in Scotland 4,000 miles away. Soap operatic at best, painful at worst. So, my lesson about spells, whether or not you believe they work or not...be careful what you wish for.

Love spells are a type of caging spell and not really ethical, but here is one that is a Tarot spell and rather easy.

A GENERAL SPELL TO ATTRACT LOVE

The cards are laid out in a stairstep going down.

Perform this spell if you are yearning for a great love to enter your life. This spell calls upon arcane forces to bring the ideal man or woman to you.
The first card in the layout is THE STAR, showing powerful, unseen, and fateful forces opening channels to bring your ideal lover to you. The KNIGHT OF CUPS represents a person who brings love into your life, who involves you in an affair - the proverbial "knight in shining armor". According to some Tarot experts, the knight can represent either a male or a female. However, if you're calling for an ideal woman and are uncomfortable with the KNIGHT, then substitute THE HIGH PRIESTESS, THE EMPRESS, or one of the QUEENS. In fact, if you have a very idea of what you want your ideal man or woman to be, put any card you feel best represents your ideal mate in this position. THE LOVERS here uses it's literal meaning (the third card).

As accessories for this spell, obtain thirteen red candles (do not light these candles until instructed to, later in the spell). If you wish to use other accessories, include additional candles, flowers, crystals and gemstones, and cloth to lay the cards upon, in shades of red, the color of human love, or white, representing pure psychic energy.

Perform the spell at night before going to bed. Also try to perform this spell during a new moon, or when the moon is waxing.

Do the following :

When ready, lay out the cards. First set THE STAR in place. After you have done so, spread out your arms and say:

I call upon all good spirits!
I call upon all karmic forces!
I call upon the wide-ruling powers!
Make smooth the way, that my love may be brought to me!

Think about your desire to enlist forces in helping you to find a true love, a soul mate.
Next, set down THE KNIGHT OF CUPS. Think about what you want in the ideal man or woman.
Finally, set THE LOVERS in place. Spend some time daydreaming about the sort of romantic adventures you would like to have.
When your visualizations are complete, take the thirteen red candles and use them to make a circle around your card layout. Light each candle, and then, with as much feeling as you can, recite the following affirmation.

I call for love, and love comes to me guided by the light of my flames.
Whether it be from near or from far,
My love is drawn to me.
I give love, I receive love.
Our love is passionate, our love is intense as flame.
Our love is long and lasting.
As I desire, so I have love, and so shall it be!

You may close the spell at this point by putting out the candles and putting away the cards or as desired.

Crafty...But Not Witchcrafty.

2010-02-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

There is a street right in downtown Salem that is known not for the witchcraft that abounds all around. I might describe it with just the word craft, but that doesn't quite do justice to this special little street. Front Street, off Washington Street, has four beautiful shops that cater to creators of decorative and wearable art nestled in charming brick-and-granite buildings.

SEED STITCH FINE YARN

21 Front Street Salem, MA 01970 | 978.744.5557

STORE HOURS:
Tues-Sat: 10 AM-5:30PM Thursday: 10 AM-8PM
Sunday: 12.00 PM-5:00 PM
Closed Monday

Our first stop, on the right, is Seed Stitch Fine Yarn at 21 Front Street. Owned by Courtney Heath, a Salem resident, Seed Stitch carries high-quality, hard-to-find yarn. Alpaca, cashmere, silk. It's hard to keep your hands off. But you don't have to, because everything you need to begin a project can be found here. Gorgeous samples, knitting and crocheting notions, patterns, and hands-on help. I have gone to Seed Stitch when I've been entangled in a knotty problem, and the employees have been glad to help. There are scheduled knitting groups, and people who just hang out playing with and telling yarns, so if you want to meet some new friends, you're always welcome. Coming up is a yarn crawl, a self-guided tour of the finest yarn shops on the North Shore. Seed Stitch Yarn also offers classes--check their website for class offerings and times.

Knitters gather for a knitting with lace workshop at Seed Stitch

BEADWORKS

10 Front Street Salem, MA 01970 | 978.741.2323

STORE HOURS:
Tues-Sat: 10 AM-5:00PM

Wed., Thurs., & Fri.: 11AM-6PM

Closed Sunday

More eye candy! Shelves of it! Boxes of it! My daughter and I hadn't intended to, but we left with 20 or so beautiful sparkly beads to decorate her newly-made-(by me)-from-recycled-sweaters slippers. Beadworks, 10 Front Street, features rows and rows of sumptuous beads in all colors and materials, from all over the world, ranging from about $.30 to $5.00.

Beadworks offers girls' night out and birthday parties, or if you're visiting in town and are feeling creative, stop by and make yourself at home and make yourself some jewelry! There is a comfy workspace where you can "make the jewelry you want to wear", Beadworks' motto, right there in the store. A great rainy-day activity.

Jewelry created at Beadworks

Beadworks' work area

B.F. GOODSTITCH

18 Front Street Salem, MA 01970 | 978.740.8986
Call for hours and class information

B.F. Goodstitch is a charming needlepoint store with an equally charming proprietor, Englishwoman Fidelis Fenno. A benchmark shop on Front Street, Goodstitch has been here for 11 years. It sells fine embroidery and needlepoint supplies, including yarns and threads of silk, wool, and metallics. B.F. Goodstitch specializes in hand-painted canvases for needlpoint as well as some cross-stitch canvases. Often these are one-of-a-kind and can't be found elsewhere.

Again, as in the other shops on this social street, classes and stitching groups can be had. Embroidery, needlepoint, and tassel-making are offered, and Fidelis can teach you how to make one beautiful tassel. Call for details.

An embroidery piece incorporating common motifs found in Salem, the willow and urn carved on early tombstones

Wall of embroidery thread

MARKETPLACE QUILTS

6 Front Street Salem, MA 01970 | 978.740.3890

STORE HOURS:

Tuesday - Friday, 11:00 am - 5:30 pm
Sat 10:00 am - 5:30 pm

A quaint display of all things quilty

Owned by Salem resident Maureen Clark, Marketplace Quilts has been on Front Street for 7 years, in Salem for 10. It boasts fine-quality, 100% cotton quilting fabric in adorable designs that can't be found in the big box craft stores. Quilting books and patterns for beginners to experts, and classes! You can book stitching time when you need access to an industrial machine and the occasional helping hand. And for locals, you can be spared a trip out to the malls when you need simple sewing notions such as needles and thread. (This was a happy discovery for me--ANYTHING to stay away from a mall!) There are also quilting circles (call for details).

Civil War Tribute Quilt

A Jazzy New Salem Inn Package

2010-02-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to present a new, one-weekend only Salem Inn package. It features a very special event, the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival's 4th Annual Spring Gala, All Keyed Up. This affair is an evening concert at the Peabody Essex Museum (it's always fun to be there after hours, in a special enclave with elegantly dressed folk while all the other poor people who have no tickets can only gaze in wistfully- very different than during daylight hours when the whole museum is open.)

The concert will feature the area's leading pianists and organ players, including Grammy Award-winner David Maxwell, Marty Rowen and Ken Clark of Fats Hammond, Jen Kearney and Benjamin Zecker. All proceeds will benefit the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival's mission to put on free concerts and support music education on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Please have a listen to a sample above!

8 PM April 17 at the Atrium of the Peabody Essex Museum

Our Fabulous Salem Inn Package includes two nights at the Salem Inn, Friday April 16th and Saturday April 17th, two tickets to All Keyed Up, http://www.salemjazzsoul.org/ and a $50.00 gift certificate to Rockafella's Restaurant http://www.rockafellasofsalem.com/ , a swingin' place right downtown.

We only have a limited amount of tickets that are discounted for the Salem Inn so book soon!

$429.00 plus the fine print.

Salem Inn/Salem Theatre Company Package

2010-02-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce a new package featuring The Salem Theatre Company. The Company has just opened a new professional space at 90 Lafayette Street, within walking distance of the Salem Inn. Book a night or two at the Salem Inn. Attend any of Salem Theatre Company's Opening Celebration events (music, theatre, and comedy over the next 2 weekends) and bring your ticket back to the Inn and we will refund the cost of your ticket. PLEASE book your theatre tickets soon as it is an intimate space and shows are selling out!

http://www.salemtheatre.com/on_stage.htm

Playgrounds and Outdoor Fun in Salem

2010-02-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

If you're traveling with kids, you may wish you knew where to find the best outdoor playspots. Usually, you won't find these in a travel guide, so I'm going to give you the inside scoop. My children are 5 and 7 and we have visited them all.

Our Favorites.

View of Salem Sound from Fort Pickering, Winter Island

Winter Island. Winter Island is a park that has everything you could wish for. Located on a peninsula that juts out into Salem Harbor, it is home to Fort Pickering, built in 1643 and utilized through the War of 1812, and the Spanish-American and Civil Wars. The Pickering Lighthouse is now restored and flashes every 4 seconds- powered by solar panel. Waikiki Beach is a lovely sandy swimming beach that has some great climbing rocks and can be reached by a path from the parking lot or through the "secret passage" (our name for the wooded trail that runs around the island). There is an outdoor shower, bathrooms, indoor showers, campsites, and picnicking areas. There are grassy meadows, and gentle hills- one known as Executioner's Hill after the hanging there of Brian Sheehan in 1772. This hill overlooks a top-rate play structure. Oh, and it also has an old Coast Guard airplane hangar (where I used to skateboard as a kid; now it is boarded up for safety measures), a boat launch, Harbormaster's Station, and a beautiful burnt-out brick structure that was a Coast Guard Administration Building. It was used as a practicing ground for fire-fighters. It now serves as a terrific setting for camp ghost stories. Directions and maps can be found at:
http://www.salemweb.com/winterisland/

Winter Island from the air

Forest River Park. This, too, is a waterfront park, but it is set deep in the harbor. It has two beaches that aren't ideal for swimming but are great for kids to wade in and look for hermit crabs and for building sand castles. The play structure here is brand-new and there are scores of huge old trees, which makes it a beautiful place to walk or jog in the fall. Forest River is home to Salem's city pool, and visitors can obtain a pass for $5.00 which is good for the whole season but worth it even for an afternoon.
http://www.salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_Recreation/forestriverpool

The newly re-opened Pioneer Village, operated by the theater department of Gordon College, is tucked away in Forest River Park. Built in 1930 to mark the tercentennial of Massachusetts, Pioneer Village is America's first living history museum. The village sits on three acres of land and contains various examples of colonial architecture: dugouts, wigwams, thatched roof cottages, and the Governor's Faire House. Culinary and medicinal gardens and a blacksmith shop further interpret early 17th-century colonial life.

Early American life re-enacted at Pioneer Village

http://www.salemweb.com/tales/pioneervillage.shtml

From downtown Salem, follow Route 1A/114/Lafayette Street toward Marblehead. Take a left onto West Avenue (you will see the first orange brick building of Salem State College at the fork in the middle of the road) and follow the road straight into Forest River Park. Pioneer Village is on the left-hand side as you are facing the ocean. Less than 10 minutes from downtown Salem.

The Essex Street Walking Mall and Behind the Phillips Library. This was a great favorite with my kids when they were really young and play structures were too big and the Salem attractions too scary. The Essex Street walking mall is (nearly) car-free, and there are alley-ways here and there and several fountains that make it a fun place to bring toddlers. We used to walk the low walls around the planters and hop across the fountains, play hide and seek in between the arches of the buildings lining the mall, and follow the pathways of different color bricks laid along the walkway. To the right of the Visitors' Center located in the old Salem Armory is a passageway into the back garden of the Phillips Library (part of the Peabody Essex Museum). There is a very large handicap ramp behind the library where my kids loved to run up and down, and the setting is quite lovely with grass, trees, and an antique garden house that has a circular walkway which makes a great racetrack.

There are other great spots in Salem, including an alpaca farm. We are going to revisit this as it's been several years since we've been there- we'll let you know what we find.

Coming up...Is the Salem Inn Haunted?....Spa packages...Alpaca farms....

Salem Theatre Company New Space is Opening!

2010-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

I have been to a number of the Salem Theatre Company's productions and I am so excited that they are going to have a new, permanent theatre space right downtown. (Next to Strega restaurant- home of the North Shore's Best Martini Bar). STC's productions are always impressively professional and now they will have a space to match the quality of their work.

To celebrate the opening of their new theatre, they are coming in with a blast of performances, some of which will bookend February vacation!

For more information, visit their website at http://www.salemtheatre.com/on_stage.htm

Best of luck to them in their new venture!

SALEM THEATRE COMPANY - 90 LAFAYETTE STREET - SALEM, MA

Great Service Deserves a Posting

2010-02-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

As an artist who paints large-scale (walls) I have had back problems as long as I can remember (about as long as I've been painting). Since last summer I have been getting massages at LivingWell, which is conveniently located in the heart of Salem (and, I might add, right next to the Starbucks. It was this proximity that first prompted me to go in).

"No, I can't turn my head back just now."

I have tried Rolfing, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, and Just About Everything Else.

The first person to ever give me real relief from my at-times debilitating pain was Frank Corcoran, the owner of LivingWell. And shhh- he's known locally as The Body Whisperer. Since then I've been back for regular tune-ups, facials, pilates lessons, and bodywork with the other therapists. Karen did a great job this morning.

The atmosphere is soothing...the offerings include everything from serious bodywork to a serious Brazilian wax. The receptionists are professional and always friendly, and Frank Corcoran is also extremely funny. If you can stop laughing long enough, he'll also educate you on how to help yourself.

Frank Corcoran, Owner and LMT, LivingWell

www.livingwellsalem.com

The Salem Inn will be putting together a package of the best LivingWell has to offer as well as lodging at the lovely and relaxing Inn. Stay tuned for that, but in the meanwhile LivingWell has Daily Discounts that are good for the day they are posted. The savings are significant and they vary from day to day. You can find these on their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/LivingWell/195851229589?ref=ts

Recent Photography in Salem

2010-02-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

I went to the funky coffee house, Front Street Coffee shop this morning and had a cup of tea while checking out the new exhibit of twenty photos by Brent Clarke, a photojournalist who lives and works in Boston. Some of the black and white images depict startling moments of intimacy during political protests and rallies, where it is hard to tell which side people are on (pro-choice or antiabortion, in favor of gay marriage or not) because the most striking aspect about them is that they're all human. One of the most beautiful photograph is that of a torn United States flag flying against an ominous stormy sky. Why is the flag torn? Where is it flying? Why would a torn flag be left to fly?

His photos are at Salem’s Front Street Coffee throughout the month of February.

~~~

Beauty is Balm to the Soul, Elias Andrinopoulos' photos of Greece, is opening on Friday February 12 at 5:00, Starbucks, 211 Washington Street, Salem.