Jump into Spring Jazz Party

This is always a great party, so if you are looking for something to do on March 18, I think you've found it!  For more information, visit HistoricSalem.org.

Not a Dull Moment...

These are the people who perceive things differently...

Salem Film Fest is underway.  Come to Salem, See the World!  Click here for the schedule of films.

Come see Salem... at the AAA Travel Marketplace!

We are going to be promoting Salem at the AAA Travel Marketplace this weekend at Gillette Stadium, so if you can't get to Salem (which is, of course, our first choice) come say hi in Foxborough!

Come say hi to representatives from Destination Salem, The House of the Seven Gables, Salem Waterfront Hotel, The Hawthorne Hotel, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem Ferry, Salem Trolley, and Salem Witch Museum will be at the show.  We will have prizes and give-aways, as well as brochures, so stop by!

Click here for a coupon for $2 off admission to the show, which runs Friday through Sunday.

Dutch Masters at the PEM

I love it when the Peabody Essex Museum opens a new exhibit. It always causes a media explosion!  The new exhibit, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk Van Otterloo Collection is no exception!

This exhibit is on display through June 19, 2011.  While I cannot extend to you personal invitations from Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jacob von Ruisdael and Jan Brueghel the Elder, I can share with you the glowing reviews of the show that have been published over the past few days.

• Financial Times: At home with the greats
  
• The Boston Globe: Masterworks that amuse and amaze
  
• The Salem News: Dutch Treat: PEM's new exhibit features paintings from the 17th century
• The Boston Globe: The Collectors: A local couple unveil their prized Dutch masters to the public
• The Wall Street Journal, In Salem - Old master sorcery
  
• Metro West Daily News: Remarkable collection of Dutch and Flemish art on display at Peabody Essex Museum

Make plans now to see this wonderful, golden show!

Sleeping Dog, 1650

Gerrit Dou (1613-1675). Oil on panel
6 ½ x 8 ½ inches (16.5 x 21.6 cm)
The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection
Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Work or Play at the Salem Waterfront Hotel & Marina

The Salem Waterfront Hotel & Marina is a great place to stay, whether it's for work or play.  

Coming to play?  Check out their packages at SalemWaterfrontHotel.com!  Options range from "Pool & Pizza" for families to a very snugly romantic package, to the "Salem Sampler," which is perfect for anyone who is visiting Salem for the first time. 

Coming to work?  You will find luxurious guestrooms and great meeting space options.  The Sales office is running a special right now - stop by for a tour of the property, and receive a $25 gift card to the Regatta Pub, just for stopping by!  And if you book an event, you will get another - bigger - gift card to the Regatta Pub! Events costing $500-$1,000 will earn you a $50 gift card, and events over $1,000 have a $100 gift card reward.  Gift cards for booked events will be sent to you the day after our event.  This offer is good only until April 30, 2011, so now is the time to consider the Salem Waterfront Hotel & Marina for your next meeting!  Call the sales office at 978-619-1115 to schedule a tour or book your meeting.

The Massachusetts Poetry Festival is coming to Salem!

The poets are coming! The poets are coming!

Mark your calendar for the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, which will come to Salem on May 13 - 14, 2011.  There will be more than thirty programs, workshops, readings, concerts, slams, and a small press fair throughout downtown Salem as part of the festival. 

Festival Highlights...

Friday evening will feature a program of music and poetry headlined by soldier poet Brian Turner, acclaimed author of a collection of poems entitled Here, Bullet, written after serving for seven years in the U.S. Army. He was an infantry team leader for a year in Iraq with the 3rd Styker Brigade Combat Team, and Infantry Division. Prior to that, Turner deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovnia with the 10th Mountain Division (1999-2000). Here, Bullet, won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, the New York Times “Editor's Choice” selection, the 2006 Pen Center USA "Best in the West" award, and the 2007 Poets Prize, among others and Turner was selected as one of 50 United States Artists Fellows for 2009. 

Turner will be joined on Friday evening by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, an Asian American poet, best known for her jovial and accessible reading style and lush descriptions of exotic foods and landscapes. Nezhukumatathil draws upon her Filipina and Malayali Indian background to give a unique perspective on love and loss, and the land. She is  the author of At the Drive-In Volcano (Tupelo, 2007), winner of the Balcones Prize, and Miracle Fruit (Tupelo, 2003), winner of the ForeWord Magazine Poetry Book of the Year and the Global Filipino Literary Award.

On Saturday, there will literally dozens of performances by poets and musicians throughout downtown Salem. There will be a Small Press Fair, featuring more than 30 Presses that publish poetry in Old Town Hall. The main performance stage will provide a continuous program of music and poetry, and the Massachusetts finalists for Poetry Out Loud will recite their poetry.  In addition, there will be musical perfromances by singer/songwriter Kim Richey, New England Conservatory students, and others. 

Downtown Salem will be infused with poetry from Haiku to Hip Hop, Shakespearean sonnets and spoken work, Elizabeth Bishop at 100 and an intercollegiate Poetry Slam, and much, much more.

For complete information on the festival, visit MassPoetry.org.