Salem Events Nov 12-19: Restaurant Week and a Free Lit Fest

Restaurant Week starts Sunday, and the Salem Literary Festival fills the days before it. Here is the whole week, Thursday to next Thursday, with a time and a link for every event.

IF YOU DO ONE THING

Go out to eat during Restaurant Week.

Sixteen Salem spots are in for Fall Restaurant Week, from Bernadette, Settler and Finz to Front Street Coffeehouse, Ba Banh Mi and Flying Saucer. Six have posted their menus on the Chamber's page, and the rest ask you to check with the restaurant.

Sunday, November 15 to Thursday, November 19 · participating restaurants · prices vary by menu

Details →   See who's in →

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Enduring Hawthorne. 7 PM, Trade House, 156 Derby Street. Free. The Lit Fest's opening night: a conversation with Charles Baraw and Ben Wickey, and Dan Blakeslee performing Hawthorne's "Feathertop" as a folk song. Details

Sea Shanty Night. 7 PM, the Salem Playhouse, 211 Bridge Street. Free. A room of strangers learns a shanty together, no experience needed. Details

Beyond the Bricks: Building Community Together. 6 PM, North Shore Community Development Coalition, 96 Lafayette Street. Details

Koto Comedy Night. 8 PM, Koto, 90 Washington Street. Details

Rock Cauldron Cabaret. Family show 6 PM, 18+ show 8:30 PM, Creative Collective Studios, 35 Congress Street. Details / 18+ details

Also Thursday: Convivial Craft at the Athenaeum 1, East Reggie Run Club 6, Geeks Who Drink trivia at Far From The Tree 7, trivia at Dire Wolf Tavern 7, open mic at Gulu-Gulu 7:30, trivia at Couch Dog 7:30, Arcade Era Karaoke at Bit Bar 9.

Good to know: the City Council meets at 7 PM, with Administration and Finance at 6.

Local Lit. 7 PM, Salem Athenaeum, 337 Essex Street. Free. The Lit Fest's local author reading, with Jilly Gagnon, S.E. Grove, Adriana Mather and Peter Swanson. Details

Eighth Annual Veterans' 10-Minute Play Festival. 7:30 PM, Sophia Gordon Center, 356 Lafayette Street. Free, reservations encouraged, no late seating. It repeats Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2. Details

Ren McLean, Mad Jupiter & The Jetts and Molly Pinto Madigan. 8 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, 247 Essex Street. Three acts, no cover. Details

Spirits & Superstitions: a Friday the 13th Tour. 3, 6, 7:30 and 8 PM, Witch City Walking Tours, from Derby Square. Ninety minutes of superstition and local ghost stories. Details

Night Light presents Ms. 45. 10 PM, Cinema Salem, 1 East India Square. Details

Also Friday: PEM Pals 10:30, Eerie Stories at the Salem Armory 1, tai chi at St. Peter's-San Pedro 1, free tea and cake tasting at Jolie 3, Noguchi-inspired light sculptures at PEM 3, Taco Cat pop-up at Far From The Tree 4, Jude and the Hutch at Far From The Tree 7, Reilly Somach at Couch Dog 7, Sea Witch Ball Workshop 7, a lecture on the Resplendent Quetzal at PEM 7:45.

Salem Literary Festival. Author panels on the hour from 11 AM to 5 PM, then Christy Scott Cashman in conversation with Brunonia Barry at 7, Tabernacle Church, 50 Washington Street. The Children's Lit Fest runs 9 AM to noon at the Community Life Center, 401 Bridge Street. Every session is free. Details

Ota Flag Raising. 11 AM, Salem Armory Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty Street. Thirty-five years of the sister city tie between Salem and Ota, Japan. Details

Ukulele Melee. Noon to 5 PM, Salem State University, 71 Loring Avenue. Details

The Joe Giardella Band. 8 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, 247 Essex Street. Bluesy, rootsy rock and roll. Details

DEAD DISCO. 9 PM, Koto, 90 Washington Street. Dark disco, goth and post-punk with DJ James 808. Details

Also Saturday: Grandma's Attic Sale at St. Anne Parish, 292 Jefferson Avenue 9 to 2, Salem Magick & Art Symposium, 92 Jackson Street 9 to 5, Remembrance Altars at PEM 10:30, Saturday Morning Run Club at Couch Dog 11:30, a curator talk on Noguchi and wartime internment at PEM 1, Salem's Modern Philosophers at the Athenaeum 1, Not Bad Pretty Good Band at Far From The Tree 2, Treeworks at Starbird 2, Sea Witch Ball Workshop 7, Witches Amongst Us at The Lost Library 8:30.

Salem Literary Festival, closing day. Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square. Thomas Levenson on science and tech at 2:30 PM, then One Book, One Salem at 4. Free. Details

Klay House Ceramics Workshop. 2 to 4 PM, Notch Brewing, 283R Derby Street. Hand-building with Kendall from Klay House. Ticketed, 21+. Details

Diamond's Dine In with DJ Maxine Harrison. 2 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, 247 Essex Street. Details

Maddie and Jake, with a Jennifer Lee food pop-up. 2 PM, Far From The Tree, 108 Jackson Street. Details

Whorling Witches Handspinning Meetup. 2 PM, Circle of Stitches, 78 Wharf Street. Details

Also Sunday: Taproom Yoga at Far From The Tree 10, Notch Run Club noon, Noguchi-inspired collages at PEM 1, the Veterans' play festival matinee 2, Groove Gamers at Bit Bar 5:30.

A quiet one, which makes it a good night for a Restaurant Week table.

Open Mic Night. 7 PM, East Regiment Beer Company, 30 Church Street. Details

Good to know: the City Council's Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs committee meets with the Committee of the Whole at 6 PM.

Lost Trivia. 8 PM, Bit Bar, 278 Derby Street. Trivia on the TV show, hosted by a diehard fan. Details

Harry Potter Paint Night with Rob Lynch. 7 PM, Far From The Tree, 108 Jackson Street. Details

Test Kitchen Tuesdays. 5 PM, Hallowed Ground, 87 Washington Street. Details

Also Tuesday: Writers' Open Studio at the Athenaeum 9 AM, trivia at East Regiment 7, Yesh! Trivia at the Lobster Shanty 7, Salem Writers Group at the Athenaeum 7.

History of the Paranormal Mobile Exhibit opens. From 3 PM, Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square, through Sunday the 22nd. Curated by paranormal researcher Brian J. Cano. All ages. Details

Historic Hearts Yoga Fundraiser. 6:30 PM, Hamilton Hall, 9 Chestnut Street. 25 or 50 USD, your choice. Beginners welcome, bring a mat. Details

Dark Passage (1947). 7 PM, Cinema Salem, 1 East India Square. The Wednesday classic, 5 USD. Details

Chronicles and Crafts in the Cove. 10:30 AM, The House of the Seven Gables, 115 Derby Street. Details

Bingo with the legendary Will Pottorff. 6 PM, Gulu-Gulu Cafe, 247 Essex Street. Free. Details

Also Wednesday: a trunk show at Timeless Life Treasures, 68 Wharf Street 10 to 6, Witch Trials: Bury to Salem, online 2, tai chi at St. Peter's-San Pedro 4:30, open mic at Far From The Tree 5, Notch Run Club 6, comedy open mic at Hallowed Ground 6:30, Reappraisal Reading Circle at the Athenaeum 7, Weirdo Wednesdays at Cinema Salem 7:30, Survivor 51 watch party at Far From The Tree 8.

Ribbon cutting at Not Ya Mama's Vegan Cafe. 4:30 PM, 7 Church Street. Free to attend. The Chamber named it 2026 Best New Business. Details

Decibels Film Festival opening night. 7 PM, Cinema Salem, 1 East India Square. The film is 40 Years of F**kin' Up, a documentary about the punk band NOFX. The festival of music films runs through Sunday the 22nd. Details / full schedule

To the Farthest Ports of the Rich East. 6:30 PM, Salem Armory Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty Street. James Fichter on profit and peril in the early trade to Asia. Details

Arcana: Exploring the Deep Mysteries of the Tarot. 7 PM, Pentagram, 282 Derby Street. Details

Wretched Reels. 7 PM, Koto, 90 Washington Street. Details

Also Thursday: the last night of Restaurant Week, the trunk show at Timeless Life Treasures 10 to 6, Convivial Craft at the Athenaeum 1, SAFE's 25th anniversary at Root 6, East Reggie Run Club 6, trivia at Dire Wolf Tavern 7, trivia at Couch Dog 7:30.

Good to know: the City Council's Public Health, Safety and Environment committee meets with the Committee of the Whole at 6 PM.

Three for the calendar: the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil at PEM on Friday the 20th at 7 PM, the Clue anniversary night at Cinema Salem on Sunday the 22nd at 7:30 PM, costumes encouraged, and the Wild Turkey Run on Thanksgiving morning at 8.

Everything else is on the events page.

THE DINNER CLUB

The next table is Tuesday, January 12.

Our first dinner was a huge success. See the night on Instagram, then get on the list.