August 2016 – Salem Happenings

Cirque du Soleil: Ovo

“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” – Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was fascinated by nature, and many of his works focused on the wonders of the wilderness and the need for a balance between civilization and the wild. As a result, Thoreau was always attempting to look at the world around him (both the natural world and the civilized world) in a very different way from the rest of society. In fact, if you share Thoreau’s passion for the natural world and the balance between humans and the wild, you may be looking for a way to enjoy the world from a new perspective yourself. Fortunately, if you have always wanted to see what the world might look like if you were an insect, there is a show in Manchester, NH that may be exactly what you’re looking for.

This is because Cirque du Soleil’s touring production Ovo, which will end its run in the Northeast this weekend at the Verizon Wireless Arena, gives new meaning to the idea of a “flea” circus. This show features an incredible cast of talented performers balancing, bouncing, crawling, dancing, jumping, juggling, and flying across the stage in a series of acts with an insect theme. However, the show’s focus is not actually on the insects themselves but is instead on the way they move. This means that Ovo will not only give you the opportunity to see what the world might look like to an ant, a flea, or a spider but will also allow you to witness a dazzling display of all of the incredible ways that humans and other creatures move. For more information on Ovo and/or to order tickets for the show, please visit the Cirque du Soleil website.

Photo credit: nakashi via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

The Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival

King Richard’s Faire will open its doors to all of the renaissance fair fans out there in just a couple of weeks, but if you just can’t wait to grab your medieval finery or dress up as your favorite Game of Thrones character, fear not! It just so happens that the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival is scheduled to take place this Saturday and Sunday (August 20th and 21st, 2016) from 10:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. in Charlton, MA. This festival, which is definitely smaller than King Richard’s Faire (but also costs less than half the price), will feature comedy acts, costumes, dance performances, musical performances, historical weapon demonstrations (swords, guns, and cannons), stories, a bunch of merchants selling a wide variety of unusual items, and a whole lot more. Best of all, there’s currently a Groupon available that will let you purchase two tickets to the festival for $19, which is pretty hard to beat. For more information on the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival, which typically costs $15 for anyone over the age of 14 and $10 for children ages 6 to 14 (children under 6 are free), please visit the Silver Kingdom Renaissance Festival website.

Photo credit: WalterPro4755 via Visualhunt / CC BY

See Zootopia for Free at the Prudential Center

You may not be familiar with Walter Winchell’s somewhat famous line, “It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do.” However, there’s little doubt that his words sum up what a lot of people in the Northeast are thinking right about now. In fact, I have a feeling that there’s a fair number of people who would sum up the current level of heat and humidity in one word: “gross”. Fortunately, if you’re looking for a way for you and your kids to sit back and enjoy yourselves when it may be a little bit cooler out (“little” being the key word at the moment, I’m afraid), you may want to head over to the Prudential Center tomorrow night.

This is because the Prudential Center is hosting the Magic 106.7 Family Film Festival in its South Garden every weekend until the end of August. This outdoor event, which is scheduled to begin at 6:00 P.M. every Saturday unless it rains (in which case the event will be moved to Tuesday), will give you and your family the opportunity to listen to music, participate in kid’s activities, win prizes, and see a kid’s movie for free. This week’s movie is Zootopia, so if your kids are huge fans of the movie or just fans of talking animals and RMVs run by sloths, you should definitely check it out. For information on the Magic 106.7 Family Film Festival, which is sponsored by Hood, please visit the Prudential Center’s Events page.

Photo credit: JeepersMedia via Visual hunt / CC BY

Let the Games Begin!

The wait is over. The Opening Ceremonies for the 2016 Rio Olympics are scheduled to take place tonight and the games are finally about to begin. It’s been a road filled with hurdles for not only the athletes but the host country as well, as the typical problems that always accompany an event of this size (corruption, cost overruns, construction issues, etc.) have appeared in spades. These issues have, of course, been further exacerbated by the country’s financial issues and its ongoing battle with the Zika virus. However, if you’re a fan of Olympics sports, you’re probably just happy that the Olympics are finally here and you don’t need to keep counting down the days anymore. In fact, if you already have your Olympic schedule in hand (which you can find on the Official Rio 2016 Website or by typing “Olympic Schedule” into Google), you may just be looking for a way to get the rest of your family excited about all of the events.

And, if this is indeed the case and you’re looking for some way to get everyone you know into the fun, the Charles River Conservatory may have exactly what you’re looking for. This is because the Charles River Conservatory, with the assistance of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), is hosting a series of athletic events called the Sunday Parkland Games. These events, which take place every Sunday until September 25, 2016 at Herter Park in Allston, MA from 3:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., will feature badminton, beanbag toss, bocce, mini basketball, hula hoops, jump rope, tetherball, and a whole lot more. Best of all, the event is absolutely free, open to everyone ages 3 and up, and all of the appropriate equipment and the instruction necessary to use it will be provided by Knucklebones, an athletic programming company based out of Charlestown, MA. For more information on the Sunday Parkland Games at Herter Park, please visit the Sunday Parkland Games Facebook page.

Photo credit: markhillary via Visualhunt / CC BY