Music – Salem Happenings

STEM Activities for Kids: Girls Day and the Mini Maker Faire

The ghouls, goblins, and ghosts have all returned to whence they came but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the fun has to end. In fact, if you’re looking for a way that your kids can have some fun and learn something too, there are two events in the Boston area this weekend that will definitely help.

First, if you have a young woman in your family who loves science and engineering or you would really like to get your daughter interested in science and engineering, there’s probably no better event to spark a young girl’s interest in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) than Girls Day at the MIT Museum. This is because this biannual event, which is scheduled to take place from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Saturday (November 5, 2016), will give your daughter the opportunity to meet women engineers, learn about robotics and coding, and even try building and programming some robots herself. For more information on Girls Day at the MIT Museum, which is included in the admission fee for the museum and open to all girls ages 10 and up, please visit the MIT Museum’s Engage page.

However, if you have a young boy, a group of children of different genders, or you just don’t want to pay to get into the Museum, you can always head over to a local Barnes and Noble this weekend. This is because Barnes and Noble is hosting their second annual Mini Maker Faire from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Saturday and Sunday (November 5th and 6th, 2016). This event, which is free and open to the public, will allow you and your children ages 6 and up to meet designers, engineers, and teachers who will demonstrate their skills with coding, programmable music, robots, virtual reality, and a whole lot more. Best of all, the events at each store will feature games and other activities that will allow your children to create and experience the wonders of science firsthand. For more information on the Barnes and Noble Mini Maker Faire and/or to find a list of events for each store, please visit Barnes and Noble’s Mini Maker Faire page.

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Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair 2016

It’s almost that time of year again. One of my favorite times of year (and no, it’s not Christmas.) It’s Halloween, and if you’re looking for a way to get into the spirit of the season, there’s no better place than the Witch City. In fact, it just so happens that the annual Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair is scheduled to take place in Salem this Saturday and Sunday (October 8th and 9th, 2016) from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. each day. This fair, which was originally known as the Bizarre Bazaar (and is still known as such by many of the locals), will give you the opportunity to peruse the wares of over 70 vendors selling art, crafts, jewelry, and a whole lot more. Best of all, if you’re accompanied by someone who isn’t really into shopping (a child or spouse perhaps), there’s no need to worry because there are always a number of street musicians and other performers who are certain to keep your friends and family entertained. For more information on the Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair, which is free (until you decide to buy everything in sight) and open to everyone, please visit the Salem Chamber of Commerce website or the Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair Facebook page.

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Topsfield Fair 2016: The Country’s Oldest Agricultural Fair

Chances are, your children already know that the cow goes “moo” and the pig goes “oink”. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that they may even know that the lamb goes “baa.” But, if your kids would like to do some empirical research and determine for themselves exactly what sounds a cow, pig, sheep, and pretty much every other farm animal makes, all you need to do is head to Topsfield over the next week or so. This is because Topsfield Fair, the country’s oldest agricultural fair, runs from today (September 30, 2016) until Columbus Day (October 10, 2016).

This fair will give you and your kids the chance to see animals, artwork, crafts, educational exhibits, flowers, a different group of special performers each day (including the Axe Women Loggers of Maine, monster trucks, Mounties, and musicians), and a whole lot more than I could possibly list here. Best of all, there will be a wide assortment of concession stands and vendors selling everything from books to tractors and every food item imaginable, including apple pie, Chinese food, cinnamon rolls, corn dogs, fried Twinkies, sandwiches, steak, and pretty much everything else. For more information on Topsfield Fair and/or to order tickets for the fair, please visit the Topsfield Fair website.

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Mix 104.1’s MixFest 2016

There are very few things in life that are certain, but unless it rains tomorrow (Saturday, September 17, 2016), there is one thing that is pretty much guaranteed. Music fans in the New England area will descend upon the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston like a tidal wave. In fact, if you’re a big fan of music festivals looking for your latest festival fix, you may want to join the wave of descending fans yourself because one of the best free music festivals around will be taking place at the Hatch Shell this weekend.

I am, of course, talking about Mix 104.1’s annual MixFest, which will take place on the Esplanade from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. tomorrow. This festival will feature several well-known artists including Ingrid Michaelson, Shaggy, and OneRepublic. It will also feature the winner of Mix 104.1’s local “15 Seconds of Fame” competition, Tyler & Ryan. The music for the event will actually begin somewhere in between 2:00 and 2:30, but you should definitely try to get to the Esplanade as early as possible because the gates open at 11:00 A.M. and there is only a limited amount of space available. For more information on the event, including what you can and cannot bring into the festival, please visit Mix 104.1’s MixFest page.

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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.

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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.

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Cirque du Soleil Boston: Kurios

“Curiouser and Curiouser!” The famous phrase from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland certainly sums up the fantastic world that Alice falls into in the story. However, Wonderland is not the only world that the phrase could be used to describe (and no, I’m not talking about our own world even though the phrase probably does apply.) In fact, these well-known words could probably be applied to any number of incredible realms that appear in artwork, books, movies, television, stage performances, and other artistic works. Yet, the one show that these words probably fit better than any other is Cirque du Soleil’s touring production “KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities.”

KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities, which will have its final performance in the Boston area this weekend at Suffolk Downs, is a circus like none you have seen before. This show features some of the most amazing acrobats, dancers, jugglers, percussionists, and other performers that you will ever see performing a series of acts with a steampunk theme. The element that truly makes the show amazing, however, is the huge number of curious objects or, in other words, curios that the performers will display and use throughout each of their acts. This combination of incredible performances and mechanical marvels will give you a chance to see (and, in some cases, not see) a world that is very different from our own. And, if you would like the chance to feel like Alice, you can always take the T from Wonderland to get to the show. For more information on KURIOS: Cabinet of Curiosities and/or to order tickets, please visit the Cirque du Soleil website.

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Boston’s Fourth of July Celebration

There’s no better time to enjoy fireworks and patriotic music than Fourth of July weekend, and if you’re looking for the best fireworks show around, there’s probably no better show than the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. However, the show, which has been a tradition in Boston for over 40 years now finds itself in sort of a precarious position, as the show’s founder, David Mugar, is retiring this year and the show has lost its primary sponsor. As a result, there will almost certainly be some changes on the horizon for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and the future of the event is certainly up in the air (even though it is unlikely that the show will disappear entirely.) This means that if you want to see what the event has traditionally been like, this is definitely the year to go.

The event, which takes place from approximately 8:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. on Monday (July 4, 2016), will feature performances by Demi Lovato, Little Big Town, Nick Jonas, and, of course, the Boston Pops. These performances will then be followed by a fireworks show carried out by Fireworks by Grucci, the current holders of the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Fireworks Display” and the “Largest Pyrotechnic Image.” There will also be a preview concert for the show on Sunday (July 3, 2016) from 8:30 to 10:00 P.M. that will feature all of the performances but none of the fireworks if you can’t make it on Monday or you have little ones that aren’t really that keen on the popping noise. For more information on the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular and the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular Preview Concert, which both take place at the DCR Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade in Boston, please visit Boston’s Fourth of July website.

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The 37th Annual Boston Dragon Boat Festival

The Rio Olympics are now less than two months away, which means that it won’t be long before we all have the opportunity to watch some of the most talented athletes in the world compete in everything from archery to wrestling. However, if you’re a huge fan of Olympic sports, two months may seem like an awfully long time to wait, and you may already be wondering how you’re going to survive the final stretch before the games. Well, if this is indeed the case and you’re a fan of rowing, you may be in luck because it just so happens that the Boston Dragon Boat Festival is scheduled to take place this weekend on the Charles River. The Boston Dragon Boat Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Saturday and 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, is a Chinese dragon boat race and Asian-American cultural festival. This festival will give you the opportunity to try your hand at creating Asian arts and crafts, sample a large variety of Asian cuisines, hear traditional music from China and Japan, see traditional dances and other performances from a number of different Asian countries, and, of course, watch the dragon boat races to see which dragon boat rowing team will emerge victorious. For more information on the Boston Dragon Boat Festival, which is free and open to the public, please visit the Boston Dragon Boat Festival website.

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Rock Out at Somerville PorchFest 2016

My friend Bill’s birthday is tomorrow, and Bill, much like myself, has an eclectic taste in music. In fact, I have to admit that you would be hard-pressed to find a list of songs that Bill and I didn’t like (there are definitely some out there, but they are few and far between.) As a result, I’m sure if Bill was still living on the East Coast, he would definitely be up for checking out a music festival in the area this weekend, and if you’re looking for a way to get outside and enjoy a wide assortment of different music yourself, PorchFest may be the event for you. This is because PorchFest, which is scheduled to take place from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, May 21, 2016), is an annual event sponsored by the Somerville Arts Council that features a collection of independent musicians and bands playing from porches throughout the City of Somerville. This event will feature virtually every kind of music, including alternative, Americana, blues, bluegrass, classical, country, dance, disco, folk, funk, gospel, jazz, hip hop, metal, pop, punk, rap, reggae, rock, show tunes, ska, techno, traditional music from around the world, and pretty much every other type of music you can think of. Best of all, the event is completely free and open to everyone, so you can hear a ton of good music without breaking the bank. For more information on PorchFest 2016, including a map detailing where to find each band, please visit the Somerville Arts Council’s website.

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