Saturday is doing the heavy lifting this week. The Salem Jazz & Soul Festival takes over the Willows for free, PEM drops admission for the whole day, and there is a state puzzling championship at Salem State before either of them starts. Everything below runs between tonight and Thursday the 20th.
Tonight in Salem: Thursday, August 13
Salem Farmers' Market. 3:00 to 7:00 PM, Derby Square. This week's rotating vendors include Life Love Cheese, Spice Weasel, Deacon Giles, and Far From the Tree. Details
Trivia Night at Far From The Tree. 6:00 PM. Earlier than the usual trivia slot, so you can do this and still get somewhere after. Details
Open Mic at Gulu-Gulu. 7:30 PM, 247 Essex Street. The reliable one. Details
Mahi Summer Music Series. 7:30 PM, Pickering Wharf. Live music on the water. Details
Arcade Era Karaoke. 9:00 PM, Bit Bar. Karaoke in an arcade, which is either the best or worst idea depending on your night. Details
Salem This Friday, August 14
Miz Diamond Wigfall Friday Night Drag. 8:00 PM, Bit Bar. The standing Friday drag night. Details
Sunset Paddle Tour. 6:45 PM, Salem Willows. Details
Free Friday Tea & Cake Tasting at Jolie. 3:00 PM, 316 Derby Street. Free. Details
Cardboard Salem. 3:00 to 4:30 PM, Peabody Essex Museum. Drop-in art making. Details
Saturday in Salem: August 15
Salem Jazz & Soul Festival. 11:00 AM, Salem Willows. Free. The festival exists because Duke Ellington and the Big Band circuit used to play this exact seaside park, and it has spent years rebuilding that. Jazz, soul, blues, funk, no ticket. Details
Free Admission for August Adventures. 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Peabody Essex Museum. Seven hours of PEM for nothing. We flagged this one back on the 6th, and it is finally here. Go early, the galleries thin out before noon. Details
Massachusetts Speed Puzzling Championship. 8:45 AM, Salem State O'Keefe Center. Yes, this is real, and yes, it is competitive. Details
Bones & Beauty resin workshop. 12:00 PM, Nocturne. Make something out of resin with The Dead Moon Studio. Tickets are close to gone. Details
Summerween Cookie Decorating. 1:00 PM, Granite Coast Brewing. Halloween cookies in August, which is roughly Salem's natural schedule. Details
Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop. 3:00 PM, Salem Armory Visitor Center. You are the jury. Details
Queer Community Gathering: Salem Night Live! 7:00 to 10:00 PM, Peabody Essex Museum. Same building as the free day, nine hours later, completely different night. Details
Plant Bingo. 7:00 PM, The Lost Library. Bingo where the prizes are plants. Details
Vampire Lounge. 7:00 PM, The Cove Hotel. Details
Sunday in Salem: August 16
SSU Summer Orchestra Concert. 2:00 PM, Salem State Recital Hall. Free, one hour, in and out. Details
Salem Wine Imports Annual Grand Tasting. 3:00 to 6:00 PM, House of the Seven Gables. $72, and the setting is most of what you are paying for. Details
Salem Black History Tour. 11:00 AM, departs 8 Central Street. The version of Salem history most tours skip. Details
Diamond's Dine In with DJ Maxine Harrison. 2:00 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe. Details
Feed Your Mind and Our Community. 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Wicked Good Books. Book sale fundraiser, free to browse. Details
Salem Events Next Week: August 17 to 20
Romeo and Juliet, free Shakespeare. Tuesday, 6:00 PM, Far From The Tree. TVG Shakespeare performing in a cidery taproom, which is a better setting for that play than most theaters. Details
Open Mic Night at East Regiment. Monday, 7:00 PM, 30 Church Street. Details
Wild-Craft Mondays. Monday, 7:30 PM, The Witchery Studio Space. Details
Tuesday Trivia at East Regiment. Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Details
Free Bingo Night with Will Pottorff. Wednesday, 6:00 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe. Details
Open Mic Night at Far From The Tree. Wednesday, 5:00 PM. Details
Cosplay Meet Up. Thursday, 7:00 PM, Bit Bar. Details
If you only do one thing
Get to the Willows Saturday for the Jazz & Soul Festival. It is free, it runs all day, and it is the one thing this week that the rest of the year cannot replace.
Everything else
This is the shortlist. There are over 100 events on the calendar between tonight and Thursday the 20th, including daily walking tours, the Witch City Broom workshops, kids' programming, and a lot more. See the full calendar, where every event has a one-click calendar download.
Hit reply and tell us what we missed. We read every one, and half of what ends up in here starts as somebody's reply.
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A few times a year we put a real dinner together for people who actually go out in this city. Stay on the list and you will hear about the next one first.
From Witch City, a local's guide to Salem, MA.