Filming in Salem for Fox 61 / CT Now

I was "on location" in Salem with Sarah Cody from CT NOW on Fox 61 yesterday. Here are a few pictures from the day.

We started at the Regional Visitor Center and then walked through the PEM campus to the Salem Witch Museum. Mike, the cameraman, shot b-roll along the way of the Essex Street, Hawthorne Hotel, Roger Conant.


Sarah interviewed Alison D'Amario at the Salem Witch Museum. They had a great discussion about the Witch Trials, what happened in Salem in 1692, and how lessons from the trials are relevant today.

We headed to Pickering Wharf after the Salem Witch Museum, and Mike took some shots of the stores and restaurants. (Note, it was lunch time when we were down there and the restaurants smelled goooood!)


We stopped in at Artemisia Botanicals, where Sarah talked to Teri Kalgren about the shop, about being a witch, and about Salem. I took a few more pictures at Artemisia, which I will post later this week.


Then we headed over the Central and Derby Wharves and Mike filmed some intro spots with Sarah, with the tall ship Friendship in the background. I took this picture with Schooner Fame in the background because it was the first time I'd seen her with her winter wrap off. (Sails start Memorial Day!)
We had great timing at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, as the riggers were working on the Friendship. What a great day to be hanging from rigging on a tall ship!!


Mike took some shots of the Custom House and Derby Street before we went down to Turner Street and the House of the Seven Gables. The last stop for the day was on Chestnut Street for a few shots of the Federal architecture and stunning streetscape.

I can't wait to see how they boil it down to a two-minute segment! The piece is scheduled to air on Monday, May 17. It will be online after it airs, and I'll be sure to share the link.

How We See Salem: The Hawthorne Hotel's Chef Kenneth O'Keefe

This week's "How We See Salem" column has been submitted by Chef Ken from the Hawthorne Hotel.

The Hawthorne Hotel has two full service restaurants, Nathaniel's and The Tavern in the Hawthorne Hotel, and a full banquet service. Here's a bit of insight into Salem from the man behind the menus.

Chef Kenneth O'Keefe
Executive Sous Chef at the Hawthorne Hotel

Where are you from originally?
New York and New Hampshire

How long have you lived or worked in Salem?
8 years

What is your favorite thing about Salem?
The history. There are very few 400-year-0ld cities in the United States.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Salem?
Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel, Sixty2 on Wharf, Dube's Seafood

What’s your favorite place to shop in Salem?
Beautiful Things and J. Mode (for gifts for my wife).

What is the first thing you do with guests from out of town?
I usually take them to the Peabody Essex Museum.

* * *

If you want to shop, dine, and explore like Chef Ken, here are links to the places he recommends:

• Beautiful Things
• Dube’s Seafood, 317 Jefferson Avenue
  
• J. Mode
• Peabody Essex Museum
• Sixty2 on Wharf
• The Tavern at the Hawthorne Hotel
  

Before I post this, I just have to add... Chef Ken shops at J. Mode and Beautiful Things for his wife! He wins for sweetest answer yet. I can't wait to see what next week's perspective brings!

Mark your Calendars for Summer in Salem

The festivals are coming! The festivals are coming! Mark your calendars for some great special events and festivals in Salem this summer. If you want more - visit the calendar on Salem.org. It's chock full.

Salem Arts Festival June 4th-6th, 2010
The Salem Arts Festival will celebrate all the arts: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theatre, poetry, culinary and visual art. It will engage participants of diverse backgrounds and ages by reaching out to current art patrons, local students, and the community at large.

Salem Farmers Market Thursdays, 3:00 - 7:00 PM June 17 – October 29 Derby Square (between Front Street and Essex Street), Salem
Get a taste of history in Salem this summer! The Salem Farmer’s Market opens on June 17th and will be open on Thursday evenings during the growing season. We expect ten farms to be selling fresh produce, seafood, eggs, and baked goods. Artists and vendors will be selling unique treasures, soaps, scarves, and more. New this year: Asian vegetables, Preserves, Cheese! More than 38,000 people shopped the Salem Farmers' Market in 2009, and we can't wait for it to open for 2010.

Salem Celebrates the Fourth! Sunday, July 4th | 4pm - 10pm (fireworks at approximately 9:30) Derby Wharf at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Celebrate the 4th in Salem with the Dirk Hillyer Festival Orchestra! Bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the concert, the fireworks, family programming, and an old fashioned New England Independence Day celebration!

Salem Jazz and Soul Festival and Berklee Summer Series Summer Series: Saturdays: May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, 5-7 pm at Derby Square Festival: August 21-22, 2010 at Salem Willows
Experience that vibrant music scene that is Salem in the Summer! The festival will build on rich jazz history adding soul, blues and funk to the mix. A series of free concerts with a conclusion at the Salem Willows. The festival will spotlight the wealth of talented musicians on the North Shore and already has attracted thousands of fans!

Salem Maritime Festival August 6-8, 2010 | 9am – 5pm Derby Wharf at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Join the National Park Service for the 22nd year of free family fun! Dance to sea shanties, climb aboard vessels from another era, create crafts that hearkens back to long ago. Past Maritime Festivals have included kite making, forging demonstrations, Revolutionary War reenactments, fish print making, and demonstrations from artisans and crafters.

Salem Heritage Days August 6-15, 2010
Celebrate the heritage of Salem! This perennial favorite features Mayor’s Night Out, restaurant sampler, ice Cream festival, pizza contest, Essex Street Fair, the Salem Maritime Festival, a dog show, movies on the Common, kids’ events at the YMCA, music on the Common, the Witch City Triathlon, and a finale of fireworks! The complete schedule will be posted on Salem.com in July.

Antique & Classic Boat Festival August 28-29, 2010 Saturday 11am-5pm; Sunday 11am – 3pm Hawthorne Cove Marina, 10 White St., Salem, Massachusetts
Elegant yachts from yesteryear will sail into Salem Harbor for the 28th Annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival on August 28-29. Forty vintage sailboats and motor yachts from the 1880s – 1960s are expected to be on display at Hawthorne Cove Marina in Salem, Massachusetts over the weekend. Mostly wood and privately owned, vessels range from skiffs and dories to sleek mahogany runabouts and cabin cruisers to all manner of sailboats. Known for their hospitality, many boat owners invite the public aboard their boat for a personal tour. Some adorn their craft with period décor and fetching flower arrangements.

Training in Historic Interpretation Offered by the Gordon College Institute for Public History in Salem

Think history is dry? Think again. Interpreting history to students in the 21st century means incorporating objects, music, dance, and theatre.

Beginning on Saturday, May 22nd and running through Friday, June 11th, the Institute for Public History--recently established by Gordon College, in Salem--will offer four courses for the training of public educators, undergraduates in history or theatre, or just those interested in adult development activities.

The courses cover four areas of training in historic interpretation. Meeting on the weekends, Researching Folkways and Material Culture covers the skills of understanding and extrapolating information from historical objects. Longtime North Shore historian and Gordon professor David Goss will be beginning with this course and then following with one called, The Salem Witchcraft Hysteria.

Two other courses will meet on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and will be taught by History Alive! Artistic Director Kristina Wacome Stevick: Improvisation and Interactive Theatre and Period Style, Voice and Movement. These theatre-focused courses will teach the art of using dramatic technique and the understanding of class, fashion, mores, geography and invention to literally bring history alive on the stage or in the classroom.

All courses will include special guest speakers, historic tours and site visits, and all will take the Salem historical setting as their foundation. Many of those involved in the courses will be training for the summer season with the long-running play, Cry Innocent, or as historical hosts and volunteers at Pioneer Village: Salem in 1630. Public school teachers are encouraged to register for the weekend sessions, earning 4 graduate credits and learning valuable transferrable skills to history classrooms.

Official undergraduate or graduate college credit (2-credits per course) is available for all of the courses and will require the completion of various projects. However, the Institute does invite those who wish to attend the training for enrichment purposes only to register at a greatly reduced fee.

All courses will meet in the Salem Old Town Hall at 32 Derby Square, Salem. Tours of numerous Salem sites will be included in the instruction and will be covered in the costs for the course. Syllabi for each of the courses is available at the Institute for Public History website.

For specific dates, costs, and registration please visit the Institute website at: gordon.edu/public-history. Register soon, space is limited to less than 20 students per course.

Count Orlok's Film Series

Count Orlok's film series continues this Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 PM when they show the George Romero classic Night of the Living Dead. Admission for the movie and a tour of the museum (Salem's only monster museum!) is $8.00.

If you haven't been to Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery yet, now is the time. It's a must for cinema buffs and horror fans. The figures on display are incredible, and the museum gives you an excellent history of horror cinema, from Nosferatu to Jack Torrance ("I'm Baaaaack!"). Check it out. I'm not sure I can call the collection of scary characters "gems," but if I could, Count Orlok's would be a hidden gem in Salem.

Calendar of Annual Events in Salem

We have a snazzy new electronic brochure that features the 2010 Calendar of Annual Events in Salem and directions to Salem. It's a lovely 4-page brochure that you can view and print at home.

Click on the brochure cover to check it out! It is available on the "Free Guide" page of Salem.org, as well. For a current list of events and programs in Salem, visit the Calendar on Salem.org. We add things to the calendar almost every day, so check in often!


There's a lot of good stuff coming up - first in line is the Salem Arts Festival, June 4-6. Mark your calendars and make your plans. I hear there will be an artist on the Common playing a tree that is a musical instrument. You know I'll post more information on that as soon as I have it!!

Arts Festival, Farmers' Market, Maritime Festival, Heritage Days, Salem Jazz & Soul, Literary Festival, Haunted Happenings, Restaurant Week, Arts & Antiques Month, Holiday Happenings... pick your season to visit Salem. There's going to be something fantastic going on!

How We See Salem: Author Brunonia Barry

Here is the second in our new series of how we see Salem.

Today we feature Salem author Brunonia Barry. Born and raised in Massachusetts, and currently living in Salem, Barry made her literary debut with the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel The Lace Reader (William Morrow). Her second novel, The Map of True Places, hits booksellers in the U.S. tomorrow, May 4. Like The Lace Reader, The Map of True Places is set in Salem, and entwines many of our favorite historic sites, restaurants, and neighborhoods into the story of Zee Finch.

Brunonia will be celebrating the launch of The Map of True Places on Tuesday, May 4, at The House of the Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street, at 7:00 PM. This event is free, and books will be available for purchase through Cornerstone Books at the event.

Here are a few of Brunonia Barry's thoughts on Salem:

Brunonia Barry Writer: The Lace Reader, The Map of True Places Published by William Morrow/Harper Collins

Where are you from originally?
I was born in Salem Hospital and grew up in Marblehead (on the Salem harbor side).

How long have you lived or worked in Salem? My husband and I moved to Salem eleven years ago.

What is your favorite thing about Salem?
I like just about everything about Salem, but I think I like the people best.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Salem?
If you make me choose, I’ll say The Grapevine, but there are so many great restaurants, it’s not a fair question.

What’s your favorite place to shop in Salem?
Cornerstone Books. With a stop at A&J King (bakery) on the way home.

What is the first thing you do with guests from out of town?
First I drive them around the city to show them how beautiful it is. After that, we walk. I live in the McIntyre District which means you can walk to just about everything.

* * *

Do you want to shop, dine, and explore Salem like Brunonia? Here are links to the places she recommends:

• Cornerstone Books
• Grapevine
  
• A&J King
  

Follow Brunonia's blog, the Bru-Ha-Ha, and learn more about her books:

• The Bru-haha
• HarperCollins.com