Celebrate the Lunar New Year at PEM this weekend

Join the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) on Saturday, February 27^th to celebrate the Lunar New Year and mark the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. Enjoy a full day of festivities including film, dance, music, art activities and more. Be sure to take in the spectacular Lion Dance performances by the Gund Kwok Asian All Women’s Lion Dance Troupe, learn kung fu moves inspired by animals, explore the Museum’s galleries, and create your own Chinese paper lanterns to take home!

All programs FREE with museum admission | For reservations, please call: 978-745-9500 x3011

SATURDAY, February 27^th

Flim: Kung Fu Panda | 10 am | Morse Auditorium | Reservations by February 25

Don’t miss the Oscar-nominated film, Kung Fu Panda, on the big screen! Rated PG.

Gallery Exploration | 10:30 am – 2 pm | Atrium

Learn your Chinese zodiac animal sign and then look for your animal in artwork in the galleries.

Dance Performance | 11:30 am – noon | Atrium

Enjoy a traditional Chinese dance performance by the Kwong Kow Chinese School.

Dance Performances | Noon – 12:30 pm & 2:30 – 3 pm | Atrium

See electrifying Lion Dances performed by the Gund Kwok Asian All Women’s Lion Dance Troupe.

Music Performance | 12:45–1:15 pm | Atrium

Hear the Dulcimer Ensemble from the Kwong Kow Chinese School perform in the Atrium.

Drop-in Art Activity | 1 – 4 pm | East India Marine Hall

Learn how to make Chinese paper lanterns and take home what you create.

Martial Arts Demonstration | 1:30 – 2:15 pm | Atrium

Learn how Kung Fu forms emulate animals and aspects of nature and try them for yourself.

Kung Fu Weapon Demonstration | 3:30 – 4 pm | Atrium

Examine classical kung fu weaponry through a demonstration of authentic spears, swords and more.

Three packages worth checking in...

The Salem Inn has three packages posted right now. Check in with the Salem Film Fest or Salem Theatre Company packages this weekend!

Salem Film Festival Come stay at the Salem Inn so you don't miss out on the 3rd annual Salem Film Fest...a world-class documentary film fest garnering more and more attention every year. Enjoy overnight accommodations at the Salem Inn. Purchase your tickets online and show us your ticket stub or receipt and we will refund you the money up to $27.00.
All specials are subject to availability and are not valid on previously booked reservations. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Must be requested at time of booking. Refunds of tickets are per room. Package valid February 26, 2010, through March 4, 2010 only. Additional night only $99.

The Salem Inn Celebrates the Salem Theatre Company's New Space
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, to match their professional quality theatre. Book a night or two at the Salem Inn. Attend any of Salem Theatre Company's Opening Celebration events (music, theatre, and comedy this weekend) 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!

SPA...AAH!!
The Salem Inn is partnering with Salem's premium spa, LivingWell, to bring you the utmost in relaxation. Enjoy two spa services at LivingWell, any combination of a one-massage and/or a one-hour facial for yourself or to share with your traveling companion. Couples' massages are available! Please visit LivingWell's website to see the different massage and facial services to choose from. Upgrades are available. LivingWell appointments can be booked through the Salem Inn but walk-in appointments are accepted if you're out and about and need a break--just stop in! And before your restful night's sleep, choose dinner at the intimate Gioia Ristorante or the more swingin' Rockafella's.
$525 plus tax. Add $20 for a weekend stay. Based on 2 adults. Must be requested at time of booking and not valid on previously booked reservations. Additional night only $99 plus tax.

Salem Film Fest is this Weekend!

SCHEDULE

Entering just its third year, the Salem Film Fest is emerging as a leading American all-documentary film festival, showcasing a rich and diverse collection of the year s best work from all over the world.

The festival finds its spirit in Salem’s history as the first great international city in America – establishing trade with the Far East and flooding this country with art, story, and culture from every continent.

At this moment of unprecedented promise – and unprecedented danger – documentary film can help us form a clearer vision of our commonalities as the human family, and an understanding of how to approach an uncertain future together.

Because the Salem Film Fest focuses on well-told stories with strong technical elements and interesting visual approaches, each film screened over the week-long schedule represents an immersive aesthetic experience, an opportunity to glimpse the world with fresh eyes, and leave changed as a result.

Come to Salem. See the World.

February 26 – March 4, at CinemaSalem, Salem, Massachusetts
New England’s Emerging All-Documentary Film Festival

Salem State College Presents Pulitzer-Winning Comedy

Have you seen a play in Salem State's Callan Studio Theatre? It's a wonderful venue - tiny... if you are in the front row, your feet may touch the stage, and if you're in the back row, watch your head on the ceiling - and intimate and wonderfully personal. If you have not yet experienced theater at Salem State or the Callan Studio Theatre, your chance is here! Crimes of the Heart opens this Thursday.

Here's the skinny...

The award-winning theatre department of Salem State College presents Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy, Crimes of the Heart, also winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Prize.

Written by a female playwright, Crimes is directed from a female perspective, by Professor Celena Sky April, with lead roles performed by three female students, Katelyn Collins, last scene as Sophia in the fall production of Neil Simon’s Fools, with Priscilla Swain, and Lauren Bambera.

Says April: “Bring your sisters. This is a show about sisterhood, returning home, healing wounds with laughter.”

What: Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley
When: February 25, 27, 7:30 pm, March 4-6, 7:30 pm, March 7, 2 pm.
Where: Callan Studio Theatre, Salem State College
Tickets: $15 general/$10 students and seniors/Free with Salem State student ID 978-542-6290 or salemstate.edu/arts

Make it a weekend by pairing Crimes with the Girls' Getaway at The Salem Inn!

Discover New Ways of Looking at Art, March 13 - 14

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has planned a weekend of creative explorations for March 13^th - 14^th, 2010. Nine distinct 45-minute tours offer visitors a unique perspective on the Museum’s world class collections and encourage new ways of looking at art. Tours are FREE with museum admission and are designed to cover and array of interests, from history and politics to fashion and romance.

Mark your calendars, and perhaps plan a weekend visit so you don't have to rush home. These tours look like a great way to glide through a March weekend.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Triumph and Tragedy on the High Seas | SATURDAY at 11:30 am | SUNDAY at 3 pm

The sea is the setting for adventure, drama, tragedies and triumphs in this exciting tour of maritime art.

Love Stories | SATURDAY at Noon | SUNDAY at 2:30 pm

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." Passion, unrequited love, happily ever after — the Museum's art tells many love stories.

Art & Politics | SATURDAY at 12:30 pm | SUNDAY at 2 pm

Some objects carry a political message. Come see what our art has to say about power, rebellion and political agendas.

Yakkety Yak, Please Talk Back | SATURDAY at 1 pm | SUNDAY at 1:30 pm

Some art seems to talk — to someone in the painting, to the world at large or perhaps to you. Have fun speculating on what some works of art might be saying.

Sailing by the Stars | SATURDAY at 1:30 pm | SUNDAY at 1 pm

Follow the stars and move with the wind. Learn about square-riggers, celestial navigation, dead reckoning and how art played a part in the great age of sail.

Look ... and Look Again | SATURDAY at 2 pm | SUNDAY at 12:30 pm

Uncover the story within the story in this exploration of several intriguing works of art.

The Library Connection | SATURDAY at 2:30 pm

Explore the far-ranging influence of the renowned Phillips Library on PEM through its treasure trove of art, architecture and astonishing collections.

The Humongous Teeny-Tiny Tour | SATURDAY at 3 pm | SUNDAY at 11:30 am

Does one size fit all? See if and why an object's size matters as we look at some of the museum's smallest and largest works of art.

Keeping Up Appearances | SUNDAY at Noon

Dress for power, dress for allure, dress for function or fun. Fashion crosses time and cultures at PEM.

2010 Salem Visitor & Travel Guide

This is one of my favorite times of year. This is when we take delivery of the brand new visitor guide, filled with fresh content, new business listings, awesome pictures, and a rather fantastic calendar of 2010 events. Salem is, as you'll see in the guide, hoppin'!

A few kudos need to be extended regarding the 2010 Salem Visitor Guide. This is my once-a-year "Oscar Speech," so bear with me.

• Kishgraphics, for the graphic design that keeps us current;
• Jared Charney Photography, for the incredible new images;
• Pickering Web Design for making Salem.org look as great as the visitor guide;
• and all of the members of our committee that proofed and proofed and reproofed the content.

You can request your visitor guide at Salem.org.

If you are planning a wedding, conference, or other special event in Salem this year, contact us at info@salem.org and we will be happy to send you as many guides as you need for your group.


February Vacation Programs & Specials

It's February vacation in Massachusetts next week, and there is a lot going on in Salem to keep the family busy. There are special programs at the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of the Seven Gables, there are tours at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, there are accommodations specials to create the perfect mini-cation.

Visit Salem.org for a listing of great things to do in Salem between February 13-21. It may be winter, but we're still making magic, stirring cauldrons, and raising spirits in Salem. Come visit!