Category Archives: Salem Arts Festival

10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part III (Salem, MA)

Dates Of Event: June 1-3, 2018 (event usually takes place the first weekend in June)

Location: Front St, Old Town Hall, Salem, MA

Cost: Free

Parking: Street parking, which is limited during festivals, costs .75 an hour (4 hour limit) and there are several parking lots and garages.  You can find more information about parking in Salem here.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Location: Artist’s Row, Salem, MA

Fun Facts:

  • Salem (in Hebrew) means “peace”
  • If you do visit (and shop) in Salem, don’t forget your re-usable shopping bag (they ditched plastic bags earlier this year)

Related Posts: 10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part I

10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part II

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What would an arts festival be without…art?

Well,  in addition to the musical artists, acrobats, flamenco dancers and various other entertainers, there was also lots of art on display at the Old Salem Town Hall during the festival.

All of the artists featured at this display, with one exception, were from Massachusetts and overwhelming from Salem or in the Salem MA area.

The exhibit was free of charge and there was lots of different art to entertain even the harshest art critic.  In fact, there was everything from clocks and photographs to glass sculptures and a paper mache work of art in the exhibit.  Much like

This clock called The Slow Procession of Luna was made out of oil, wood and clay.  It was  created by Gardeneer, MA artist Melinda Goodhue.

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Grasshopper Junction, Arizona was painted by Lynn, MA, artist Heather Stewart.

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Salem resident Denny Tentindo painted VWII.  It is an oil on wood painting.

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Remembering Georgie by Heather M Morris of Belmont, MA, is an acrylic on canvas work.

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Urban 3,  a photograph on canvas, was made by Chrissa Markos, a Manchester (MA) resident.

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Urban 1, also by Chrissa Markos is a photograph on canvas.

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The Annunciation is an acrylic on board work of art by Lynn, MA, artist Daniel Parziale

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This creation, made out of recycled magazines by Betsy Silverman, is called Sister Act.

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Dancing With The Stars is an oil painting by Nancy Satin.

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This work, called Dragon: noun, was made out of a dictionary.  It was created by Jacob Crawford.  His work of art won the Deborah Greel Honrary Award

 

Edison & His Children is a digital collage by Edward Morneau.

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Engaged, by Daniel Breslin, was made out of found objects on wood.

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The Controler, by Jack Walsh, is made of found objects.

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Jacob Crawford created Rainbow Chameleon with paint swatches.

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Nathaniel Hare-Thorne was sculpted by Swampscott, MA, resident Diane McAlisterr

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Marie by Taylor Popek is made oout of acrylic yarn and polyfil.

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I love all of the Salem references in this Salem Cat sculpture (you may see the Bewitched statue, Old Town Hall, the Peabody Essex Museum and other attractions on Essex St) and the foliage on the trees puts me in the fall spirit.  This scupture is an acrylic painted ceramic piece by Salem resident Beki Ferrari.

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Salem Derby Cat by Beki Ferrari is another acrylic painted ceramic sculpture.  You may also see other Salem attraction from Derby St (The House of the Seven Gables) on this sculpture.  Of course, I would have to say this was my favorite.

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Through View is an oil painting by Boxford, MA, resident Tom Bailey.

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Emergence  is an encaustic (“hot wax” painting) mixed media work of art by Amesbury, MA. artist Deb E. Goldberg.

Diane McAlister sculpted this work called Bride of Frankenmummy.

 

 

 

 

Crow is a clay sculpture by Billie-Joe Gauley of Salem.

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Girabbit is another clay sculpture by by Billie-Joe Gauley.

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Great Egret by Racket Shreve is a watercolor painting.

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Brit Eating a Salad is an oil on wood painting by Salem artist Amanda Dunham.

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NorEaster is a glass work of art by Matthew Cronin.

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Autumn is another glass sculpture by Matthew Cronin.

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Ipswich artist Jen Boisvert carved sculpted this piece called Figure.

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This untitled work is a mixed media on wood work of art by Sara Ashodian.

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Deb E. Goldberg made this encaustic and mixed media work of art called Departure.

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Ocean V is an acrylic and refined linseed oil painting by Melissa Pasdon of Salem, MA.

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This untitled work is a painted wood sculpture by Heather Stewart.

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Blue Fish  by Elizabeth Visco of Lynnfield, MA, is a Raku (A type of Japanese pottery) stoneware work of art.

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Robert Crooker of Wakefield ,MA, made this acrylic painting.

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There was also fun for those who people and dogs who wanted to cool down and splash their friend or sister.

 

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While I was photographing all of these great works of art, I saw a dog that had similar markings to my mom’s new dog.  So, I knew I had to photograph her.  June (or “Junebug”) is a 15 month old mixed breed dog.

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During my walk back to my car I met Glenna who looked adorable resting on her rock.

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And, proving that I do indeed visit Salem frequently (one of the last times I visited someone say “Hi Nomad”), I saw Cookie who I had I photographed earlier this year and also again during the festival.

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10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part II (Salem, MA)

Location: Front St, Old Town Hall, Salem, MA

Dates Of Event: June 1-3, 2018 (event usually takes place the first weekend in June)

Cost: Free

Parking: Street parking, which is limited during festivals, costs .75 an hour (4 hour limit) and there are several parking lots and garages. You can find more information about parking in Salem here.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Location: Artist’s Row, Salem, MA

Fun Fact: Salem (in Hebrew) means “peace”

Related Post: 10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part I

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Murals weren’t the only types of art on display at the Salem Arts Festival.

In addition to the amazing art on display and family friendly activities I highlighted in Part I of this series, there were several bands, dancers and other entertainers who set up on the stairs of the Old Town Hall on Front St.

All of the performers were very talented and entertaining (view the videos below to see for yourself)

All of the performers had some ties to New England, and in many cases the Salem area.

Liz Bills And The Change are from Haverhill, MA (about 40 minutes north of Salem), rocked the alley next tot he Coffee Brewhouse. Great presence and style.

Wellesley (MA) native and Berklee College of Music graduate, Sarah Blacker and the New England Groove Association was another great performer.

She even made a new young fan.

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One of the things I really enjoyed about the performers was the variety of music and entertainment. In fact, I actually heard and enjoyed some music from bands that I never thought I would be into. One of those bands was the Boston-based Outrageous Fortune Trio Jug Band mixed jazz and blues in their repertoire. I particularly enjoyed their version of “Come Together.” He actually used the cane in the photo below as an instrument.

I loved the Emma Sundvik & Hunter Burgamy Jazz Band.

I also had a surprise encounter with a friend from my gym. Anthony (“Antonio”) plays the Flamenco guitar for Boston Flamenco. Anastasia and Anna Maria joined him in his performance.

At the end of their performance, Anastasia gave some of the visitors a lesson in Flamenco dancing.

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The entertainment was not just limited to music, though. One of my favorite forms of entertainment was the dancing of the Salem YMCA Fly Kidz. These kids can dance!

And what would an arts festival in Salem be without a visit from Dark Follies?

Dark Follies incorporates stunts (a straitjacket escape artist), dancers and other magical entertainment into their acts.

The kids loved the Boston Opera Outreach Troupe. It was great seeing little children embracing this music.

If that was not enough, the Aerial Artistry of Baechtold & Abel (and their college understudy) took center stage on Front St. Their acrobatics were so graceful. But, what people may overlook is the strength these acrobats must have to be able to support their own and their partner’s body.

Speaking of Front St, there were “tiny dancers”, or more accurately a tiny stage with real life sized dancers performing.

There were also fairies who blew bubbles, read stories and danced with the children (and a few adults).

There was also a “Poets In The Round” poetry reading event.

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The street performers who you might usually see only during the Halloween season also came out to partake in the festivities and take photos with their fans. Or, just take in the scenes with a, uh….friend. It was like Halloween in June!

Of course, what would an art festival be without dogs?

Rocko looked cool rocking his bee wings with his doting humans.

Igor (the Hairless dog) was one of the more unique dogs I have photographed. You may notice his two different colored eyes.

Below are some videos of the performers from the art festival. Sorry for the “shaky cam” in some of the videos, particularly those taken at the end of the day.

And, believe it or not, there is at least one more installment of photos from the art festival coming soon!


10th Annual Salem Arts Festival – Part I (Salem, MA)

Dates Of Event: June 1-3, 2018 (event usually takes place the first weekend in June)

Cost: Free

Parking: Street parking, which is limited during festivals, costs .75 an hour (4 hour limit) and there are several parking lots and garages.  You can find more information about parking in Salem here.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Location: Artist’s Row, Salem, MA

Fun Fact: Salem (in Hebrew) means “peace”

Related Post: Artists Row

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The 10th Annual Salem Arts festivals was the place to bee last weekend.

As part of their Bee To Brick awareness campaign, the festival posted colorful bees along Artist Row and Front St.  The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of these pollinators as they are crucial to our ecosystem, and, in some areas, in danger of being depleted.  So, the next time you see a black and yellow insect don’t swat it, just shoo it away!

The “bees” were made out of plastic bottles and other recyclable materials.

 

But, the bees were only one highlight of this event. The three day (I attended 2 of the days), was full of performers, arts and crafts and various family friendly events.  The weather was picture perfect with sunny skies for all to enjoy (and I had the burn to prove it).  In fact, there was so much to see and do, I am going to have to post about this festival in parts (probably 3 or 4 parts).  In part I I will focus on some of the events on Artist’s Row.

I arrived early Saturday before all of the events started.  In a matter of hours this path (Artist’s Row – a haven for the artistic and lovers of artistic expression) would be packed with performers, vendors and revelers.

 

Along Artist’s Row, there were lots of events for kids, adults and even dogs to enjoy.  Kids could get wings (part of “bee to brick” theme), give a high five to, by far, the tallest attendee of the festival, Jasper, “King Of The Rag Dolls.”  There were also tables were kids could make hats, draw in a Salem Coloring Book and even make a Happy Father’s day card.

 

There were also vendors set up along the row and on Front St.  One of the vendors I met was the talented and friendly Joey, owner of Salem Pet Photography.

 

This won’t be the last time you see a photo of Joey in my series of blog posts for this festival.

There is so much to see and do in Salem.  But, fear not, if you get lost on Artist’s Row there is a sign post to direct you in the correct direction.

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The main attraction on Artist’s Row was the annual Mural Slam.

An artist or team of artists were given a photo to recreate as a mural.  Just seeing the progression of the murals is amazing.  It is incredible to see just how the recreations are just as good, if not better, than the original photographs.  The deadline for the murals was 8 p.m.on Sunday and I could not stay that long.  I took photos of the murals in their latest stages just before I left.  I will have to go back at some point to view all of the finished murals.  You can find more updated photos from the Mural Slam here.

 

Casey Stanberry, an architect from Cambridge (MA), was tasked with one of the hardest tasks; painting each street, intersection, building and other object from an overhead view of Salem.  The painstaking project took him two full days to complete.

 

“Caw-Caw” was painted by Madison Economides.

 

“Day Dream” was painted by Amanda Beard Garcia and Mariah Leah

 

Bruce Orr, who has worked as an art therapist, art teacher, painter and illustrator, painted this work.

 

Mike Grimaldi worked on this mural

 

Boston based artist Sophy Tuttle painted this beetiful mural.

 

This mural was painted by the Salem Academy Slammers (students from the Salem Academy Charter School in Salem, MA)

 

Kate Holloway painted this mural

 

Dan Belisle, a self taught artist from the North Shore of MA, painted this mural.

 

This “community abstract painting” (visitors could add their own efforts to this work before the actual artist finished it up) called “Geometry” was painted by James Eric Rogers (with help from the community of course)

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Liz Sullivan, who considers herself an “artist turned graffiti writer”, painted this mural.

I also came across a four legged lover of the arts: Rosie, a 17 month old Terrier Hound mix.

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Stay tuned for my Part II from the Salem Arts Festival which will include many of the performance artists on Front St. (and probably a few more dogs)!