November 2014 – Salem Happenings

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the day that every business loves and every underpaid retail employee dreads is once again upon us – Black Friday. Black Friday, of course, is both loved and loathed for the fact that it marks the beginning of the holiday season with early morning sales, crowded stores, and crazy shoppers (including some people who enjoy their craziness just a little too much.) Yet, just because the stores say that the holiday season has officially begun doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve found your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/[Insert Holiday Here] spirit just yet. As a result, you may be looking for a better way to get yourself into the appropriate holiday spirit than buying a bunch of stuff or shoveling the year’s first snow.

If this is indeed the case, and you’re looking for a holiday activity to get yourself into the right mindset for the season, the City of Lowell may have exactly what you’re looking for. This is because Lowell, Massachusetts is hosting their annual City of Lights Parade from 4:30 to 6:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday, November 29, 2014.) This parade will feature marching bands, lighted floats, and a series of events throughout the day that all lead up to the official holiday lighting of the city. In fact, you can expect arts and crafts for the kids, children’s book readings, children’s shopping, holiday shopping tours, a “Holly Jolly Trolley” complete with music and park rangers dressed as elves, hot chocolate, jugglers, magicians, music, and a whole lot more all day long. For more information on the City of Lights Parade and all of the events occurring in Lowell this weekend, please visit the City of Lowell’s website.

If, on the other hand, you’re not a big fan of outdoor events in 30 degrees or you’re a hockey fan who’s looking for something to do while you hide from all the aforementioned crazy people lurking in the malls, you may be happy to know that you can find the spirit of the season without even leaving your home. This is because the NHL has taken a cue from the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day games and made Black Friday a great day to watch hockey. In fact, there are over 20 NHL games scheduled this weekend with 11 of those games, including the NHL’s Thanksgiving Showdown, taking place today. As a result, you should have no problem finding a way to watch your favorite team on the ice whether they’re the Bruins, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Blues, Canadiens, Canucks, Capitals, Devils, Ducks, Flyers, Islanders, Jets, Hurricanes, Panthers, Oilers, Penguins, Rangers, Red Wings, Sabres, Senators, Stars, or one of the other 9 teams playing this weekend. For more information on the NHL games this weekend, please take a look at the NHL’s schedule page.

Photo credit: CopperCatStudios / Foter / CC BY-SA

Not Every Potter is Named Harry

If you’ve read my recent posts, you’ve probably realized that there’s sort of a theme for this month and that theme is creativity. In fact, I’ve already discussed a variety of workshops that were specifically designed to help you explore acting, cartooning, filmmaking, photography, and writing. However, even though I’ve covered all of those creative outlets, there’s still a number of other artistic outlets that I haven’t covered yet. As a result, I decided that this week I would talk about some of the ways that you can explore one of the creative outlets that I haven’t discussed, the fine art of pottery.

First, if you have a young child who is an aspiring potter or you would love to channel your child’s inherent messiness into the creation of art, there is no better place to do so than the Brookline Arts Center’s Parent and Child Pottery Workshop. This workshop, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 22, 2014), will teach you and your child the basic skills you need to hand-make a teacup, tile, tumbler, or vase. For more information on the Parent and Child Pottery Workshop and/or to register for the class, which is intended for children four years and older, please visit the Brookline Arts Center website.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a way to work on some pottery without your child or you would rather paint pottery than make it, you may want to check out the Pottery Night at Paint N’ Pour in Waltham, MA. This laid-back workshop will allow you to spend the evening with other adults while you paint a plate with one of the designs provided or create your own. The fine people at Paint N’ Pour will then take your plate, fire it in the kiln, and glaze it, so in 7 – 10 days you will have your very own hand-painted plate. For more information on the Pottery Night at Paint N’ Pour, please visit the Paint N’ Pour website. Also, please note that this is an alcohol-free event even though the name of the location might suggest otherwise.

Photo credit: owlpacino / Foter / CC BY-ND

Aspiring Artists, Photographers, and Writers

Last week I talked about some of the ways that we can inspire creativity in our children, but after writing that post, something occurred to me. Why should kids have all the fun? There are plenty of workshops, conventions, and other similar activities that are designed for people of all ages, so what’s actually stopping the adults among us from seeking out ways to inspire our own creativity? In fact, if you’re an aspiring artist, an aspiring photographer, or an aspiring writer, there’s really no reason that you can’t join in on the fun and explore some of the great creative opportunities this weekend.

First, if you’re an aspiring artist or an aspiring cartoonist, there is probably no better place to be this weekend than DrawnCon. DrawnCon, which is scheduled to take place at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, MA from 9:00 A.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 15, 2014) to 6:00 P.M. Sunday (November 16, 2014), is one of the largest conventions dedicated to Western art and animation in the Northeast. This convention will allow you to learn what makes a cartoon work and what doesn’t, learn the finer points of voice acting from actual voice actors, learn how to draw your favorite cartoon characters, learn about costuming, learn about the worst and greatest cartoons past and present, audition for your own voice acting role, and a whole lot more. For more information on DrawnCon, please visit the official DrawnCon website.

Secondly, if you’re an aspiring photographer, there is a very interesting workshop this weekend at the Plymouth Center for the Arts (and I don’t mean “interesting” in the “wow, that’s weird” sense.) This is because the Plymouth Center for the Arts is hosting an i-Phonography Workshop with Rad Drew. This workshop will teach you how to use your iPhone to take pictures and use apps and processing techniques to create beautiful images that convey whatever effect you desire. For more information on the i-Phonography Workshop with Rad Drew, please visit the Plymouth Center for the Arts website.

Finally, if you’re an aspiring writer, there is another free talk at the Cambridge Public Library tomorrow (November 15, 2014) that is definitely worth checking out. Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, a writing professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and an award-winning essay writer, will discuss how to convey a truly engaging character from 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. Saturday. For more information on the talk, which is part of the Free Writing Craft Talk series at the Library, please visit the Cambridge Public Library’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: Photo Extremist / Foter / CC BY

Inspiring Your Child’s Creativity

My oldest niece turned 16 last week, and it got me thinking. Is it ever really too early to start inspiring a child’s creativity? I mean all of the doctors, psychologists, teachers, and child development experts will certainly tell you that the earlier you start reading to your child and encouraging his or her creativity, the better off your child will be in the long run. However, does it really make sense to sign your 6-month old up for a book club or a writing workshop? Probably not.

Yet, if you give it some thought, you may come to the same somewhat startling, but not completely shocking realization that I came to. The experts are probably right. We live in a world where the flower girl at your wedding could be old enough to drive your car in the blink of an eye, which means that we all have a lot less time than we think. As a result, it’s always a good idea to use the time that we do have wisely, and if you’re looking for a way to inspire your child’s creativity while you can, there are some events this weekend that are sure to help.

First, if your child is an aspiring filmmaker or you would like your child to be, you may want to head over to the Boston International Kids Film Festival this weekend. This festival, which runs from 6:00 P.M. today (November 7, 2014) to approximately 5:00 P.M. on Sunday (November 9, 2014), will allow you and your children to view a series of short films that are specifically designed for kids as well as films that are actually directed and/or produced by kids. In fact, the festival will not only feature over 50 short kids films, but will also feature a number of workshops that will teach you and/or your family how to make your own movie and how to use social media more effectively. For more information on the Boston International Kids Film Festival (BIKFF), please visit the BIKFF website.

Secondly, if your child is one of those fine, upstanding individuals that turns his or her nose up at anything but the theatre or you’re just looking for an opportunity to get some embarrassing photos that will haunt your child for years to come, you may want to encourage your child to check out the Natick Drama Workshop. The Natick Drama Workshop is a 10-week drama program that is designed to teach young actors the finer points of performing on the stage. This program will allow your child to audition for a drama troop of 40 – 60 students and, if they get a part, rehearse to perform in front of an actual audience at the Kennedy Middle School in Natick as part of a full production complete with costumes, sets, and props. Registration for this year’s workshop is currently closed and there is already a waiting list for next year, but you and your children can still get tickets to see their production of Wonderland this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (November 7 – 9, 2014) if you want to see what it’s like. For more information on the Natick Drama Workshop and/or Wonderland, please visit the Natick Drama Workshop website.

Finally, if you or your slightly older child has an undeniable love of writing or you’ve been reading all of this and thinking “my kid could write better than this guy”, there is a free writing talk at the Cambridge Public Library this weekend. Margot Livesey, writer-in-residence at Emerson College and award-winning author of the novel The Flight of Gemma Hardy, will discuss how to create engaging dialogue from 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 8, 2014.) For more information on the talk, which is part of the Free Writing Craft Talk series at the Library, please visit the Cambridge Public Library’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: adplayers / Foter / CC BY-ND