Free Family Fun!

The 20th Annual Salem Maritime Festival kicks off the annual Salem Heritage Days this weekend.

The Maritime Festival will kick off on historic Derby Wharf at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Friday, August 1, 2008 with a free concert featuring Entrain, the eclectic Martha’s Vineyard-based six-piece band. Entrain will bring their unique combination of rock, blues, calypso, zydeco, jazz and funk to Derby Wharf from 7-9 PM.

The free Maritime Festival will present its usual mixture of traditional craft demonstrations, children’s activities, and demonstrations aboard the National Park Service’s tall ship Friendship on Saturday, August 2, 2008 from 10 AM to 6 PM and from noon to 5 PM on Sunday, August 3.

The musical line-up will include maritime music groups like Atwater& Donnelly and the New Bedford Sea Chantey Chorus that are maintaining traditional forms, as well as groups like Sharks Come Cruisin’, who are reinterpreting traditional sea chanteys with a rock and blues sound. The Maritime Festival will also showcase the best local talent along with groups from around New England, including Buddy Walker and his band, the New Hampshire-based rock, funk, and reggae Casual Labor Band, and Rhode-Island based maritime singer-songwriter Jon Campbell.

The Salem Maritime Festival is free and open to the public. It will take place on Derby Wharf at Salem Maritime National Historic Site on Saturday August 2 from 10-6 and Sunday, August 3 from 12-5. For more information and directions to the venue, please visit the Salem Maritime National Historic Site web site at www.nps.gov/sama.

Music Schedule for the 20th Annual Salem Maritime Festival

Friday, August 1st

7-9pm: Evening concert by Entrain, the eclectic Martha’s Vineyard-based six-piece band playing rock, blues, calypso, zydeco, jazz and funk.

Saturday, August 2nd

10 am taped music

11 am-1 pm: Orville Giddings Band—rock and blues

1 pm-2pm: Jon Campbell—contemporary maritime music

2 pm-3pm: Casual Labor Band—rock, classic rock, southern rock, pop, funk and reggae,

3 pm-4pm: Warszawiaki Orchestra—traditional Polish music

4 pm-6 pm: Shark’s Come Cruisin’—punk rock maritime music

6 pm-9 pm: Evening Concert by Squeeze Box Stompers—cajun, zydeco, and country blues

Sunday, August 3rd

12 noon-2 pm: New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus

2 pm-3pm: Michael O’Leary and the Stroms - sea chanteys and Celtic music

3 pm-5pm: Atwater & Donnelly - traditional American folk music

For more information, visit the Salem Maritime National Historic Site web site at www.nps.gov/sama and the Maritime Festival Site at
http://www.nps.gov/sama/parknews/maritimefestival2008.htm.

The Lace Reader launches...

The buzz has been building around The Lace Reader for months, and it's here! It's here! It's here. Today is the day that this great novel, set in Salem hits bookshelves nationwide. Have you gotten your copy yet?

The book is the People Magazine pick of the week. The New York Times and The Washington Post both reviewed the book this past weekend, The Salem Gazette ran a piece on the book and author Brunonia Barry on July 18, and The Salem News and The Boston Globe have featured the The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry, and Salem in today's editions.

There are two videos featured on salem.org/lacereader. The "theatrical" trailer for the book, and an interview with Brunonia Barry about The Lace Reader, its characters, and Salem. You will also find information about and a link to The Lace Reader sweepstakes - you can enter to win a weekend in Salem!

I hope this novel inspires you to visit Salem, to revisit some of your favorite sites that Towner and Rafferty mention or patronize, to perhaps seek out Ann Chase's shop - which is fictitious, but you will find elements in Artemesia Botanicals, Pyramid Books, Nu Aeon, and others - on Pickering Wharf. Follow the walking map through Towner's Salem and enjoy this very real city that is home to Brunonia Barry's most interesting characters!

Today's Sunday Globe features The Peabody Essex Museum

What a treat to be able to report yet another feature in The Boston Globe about a Salem destination. Today's Sunday Globe featured an article about the incredible Peabody Essex Museum.

I highly recommend a visit to the PEM - whether it will be your first or fiftieth. You may be intrigued by the special exhibits, which currently include Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony; Body Politics, Maori Tattoo Today; Stage Idols, Japanese Kabuki Theater; and Gateway Bombay. These exhibits will take you on an exploration of art and cultures around the globe as you wander between galleries.

Or, perhaps you are interested in the incredible Yin Yu Tang house. The house was originally a late Qing Dynasty merchants' house located in southeastern China. It was moved - piece by piece -and assembled at PEM where it is now open to visitors.

You may be captivated by the Asian Export Art, the Maritime Art Collections, the galleries of American Decorative Arts, and the Native American Collections (to name just a few - the museum is truly extensive in its collections).

And perhaps you are like my family, which visits the PEM with no intention to stick together - each heading off to the galleries that interest us individually, and planning to rendezvous in the Atrium for lunch at a specified time. If you are visiting with children, fear not - PEM was voted one of the Best Art Museums for Children by Child Magazine. The Art & Nature Center has interactive activities for kids, and the museum regularly schedules events and programs for families.

Finally, PEM is the oldest continually operating museum in the United States. Its collections, which include 854,000 works of art, architecture, and culture, are singular among American museums. Many of the museum’s collections are considered to be among the finest in the nation, yet several have never been publicly displayed at any time since the Museum’s founding in 1799. (This data is taken from the PEM's Collections page on the pem.org web site.)

It is not possible to discover all of the magic in Salem without visiting the PEM, an institution and destination that has been at the core of Salem for more than 200 years.

Here is the link to the article that appeared in The Boston Globe:

Well supported, well attended

Five years after expansion, PEM hasn't slowed down
By Geoff Edgers, Globe Staff July 27, 2008

Salem CultureFest this Weekend

This weekend Salem will be the site of the third annual Salem CultureFest: Travel the World without the Airfare!

The Salem Culturefest is a two-day event (Saturday 10am-8pm; Sunday 10am-6pm) that showcases many cultures and styles through live music, community organizations, unique arts, crafts, and culinary foods. Everyone is welcomed to attend this fun family-friendly event.

In addition to two days of fantastic music, there's lots for kids and families to do throughout the day, including cultural games, crafts including drum and mask making provided by Salem schools, Origami with the Peabody Essex Museum, karate demonstrations, scavenger hunt, pony rides and a moonbounce.

On Saturday evening from 4pm-8pm Salem CultureFest will convert the Common into an International Food Court. Take a culinary trip from the Americas to India to Ireland to Asia and back again, courtesy of more than a dozen North Shore restaurants. Live free entertainment provided by Mystafine, Joh Carma and the Mamadou Band.

Visit Salem CultureFest on line for more information and the incredible schedule of events.

The Lace Reader Book trailer

Here is the new trailer for The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry! If you have not yet entered the incredible sweepstakes for a weekend in Salem, you can find information on the sweeps on both The Lace Reader web site and Salem.org/lacereader.

Fireman Creative shot for this video in Salem back in April. You can see the other video they created on the Salem.org/lacereader page. The novel, set in Salem, hits bookshelves on Tuesday, June 29th. You can see Brunonia Barry tonight on Chronicle on WCVB-TV (Channel 5 in Boston) at 7:30 pm tonight.

Make Salem your vacation hub

How many days should we plan to stay in Salem?

I hear that a lot. And I can honestly tell you: As many as you have! If you have the time to spend four or five days in Salem, there are an awful lot of options for how to spend your time. Here's how you might fill the hours...

Find your accommodations and check in to Salem on day one. If you check in at 3pm, you have time for one attraction or museum (but do save the Peabody Essex Museum for day two when you have a few hours to spend). Grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant - if you have come from inland, search for terrific seafood on Pickering Wharf. After dinner, muster up your energy for a walking tour of Salem - Salem has tour companies that will share history or haunts, it's up to you! (If your energy is truly waning, grab an historic tour with Historic Salem Pedicab Tours - and leave the exercise to your guide!)

On day two grab one of the trolleys and take their one-hour tour of Salem and then you can use your ticket for an on-again-off-again shuttle service throughout the day. Explore Salem's museums and attractions, take a sail aboard Schooner Fame, stop by one of our confectioners for a treat, and save a bit of time for shopping. After dinner, sample some local music at Rockafellas, The Lobster Shanty, or Gulu Gulu Cafe.

This brings us to day three - the day you head out of Salem. I would spend day three in Boston. Hop on The Salem Ferry in the morning and enjoy the 45-minute ride to Central Wharf in Boston. Make sure to pick up Cruise-and-Dine information and have your ticket stamped so you can save some money on lunch or dinner - in Boston or Salem! If you are traveling with kids, the New England Aquarium is adjacent to the Ferry landing in Boston. Faneuil Hall and Quincy (remember - it's pronounced "Quin-Zee") are across the street and will entertain all ages. Visit the National Park Service visitor center on State Street, and grab a Freedom Trail tour. Boston is a very walkable city with incredible museums, distinctive neighborhoods, theatre, restaurants, and great shopping. If you don't want to walk, hop on the T - Boston's subway system. You'll have no problem filling your day, and you can snooze on the Ferry ride back to Salem. You won't miss your stop, it's the only one!

On day four, after a very good night's sleep, you have the region north of Salem to explore! Head up to Gloucester - the MBTA Commuter Rail can take you there, or you can drive via scenic Rte. 127 or the slightly faster Rte. 128 - and head out on a whale watch with Capt. Bill & Sons. The whale watching is incredible this year, and all of the trips have naturalists on board. Arts enthusiasts will love the art colonies in Gloucester in Rockport, and architectural buffs will be in seventh heavan in Ipswich and Newburyport. Those traveling wiht kids should check out CoCoKey in Danvers. It's an indoor water park, and the kids will love you for adding it to your experience. If you're goal is to add to the shopping you started in Salem, head toward Marblehead, Newburyport, and Rockport. For more information on the region, visit the North of Boston CVB and the Essex National Heritage Area web sites.

I didn't get into the region's beaches - and we have stunning, sandy beaches in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ipswich, Marblehead, Gloucester, and Rockport. Your innkeepers will certainly be able to point you to the beach that fits your needs.

Salem is a fantastic, unique, historic destination, and it is fortunate to be located in an incredible region of Massachusetts and New England. Enjoy your exploration!

The Lace Reader Sweepstakes

Here we are at The Lace Reader: Blog Post II. (I told you there would be a few... I'm really excited about this book, and therefor think you should be, too.)

Here's the buzz for this week - The Sweepstakes is Live! You and your friends, neighbors and acquaintances can enter a fantastic sweepstakes for a weekend in bewitching Salem, Massachusetts. The prize packages (there are two - twice the chance of winning!) were compiled by Destination Salem and our participating sites and businesses. Visit the Salem.org sweepstakes page to find links to all of the participating businesses, museums, and sites.

Don't forget to buy the book when it is released on July 29th. Cornerstone Books will have it, as will every other bookseller in the nation.

The Lace Reader will be featured on Chronicle on Friday, July 25, so set your recorders!