The 2nd Annual Salem Spice Festival will be taking place at Salem Pioneer Village on Saturday and Sunday, September 10th and 11th, 2016. Click here for event details.
In mid-September, New England Fall Events attended the
inaugural Salem Spice Festival held at Salem Pioneer Village—a living history
museum tucked away in Salem’s Forest Park.
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| Salem Pioneer Village's living history museum hosts the Salem Spice Festival. |
Salem, Massachusetts has a very rich history in spice importing.
Owing to its busy ports and an enterprising sea captain named Johnathan Carnes,
for nearly 80 years Salem even held the distinction of being the center of the lucrative
international spice trade.
The originality of the theme of this particular festival caught our eye and we made a beeline to coastal Salem. We parked in the large lot inside Forest Park and easily spotted the sign along a fencepost welcoming us to the Pioneer Village. Though built in 1930, the Pioneer Village is a living history museum set in the year 1630.
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| L to R: a period cottage in the Pioneer Village, a sign made with glue and spices, and medicinal herb talks in the garden. |
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| The Pioneer Village allows a peek into colonial life in 1630 Salem |
The village features a variety of
period housing structures—thatched roof houses, a Governor’s house, wigwams,
and simple cottages—as well as small herbal gardens, shops, and fire pits. All
in all, you couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect setting to host a festival
like this one!
Entering the festival we were greeted by a friendly volunteer and handed an activity program for the two-day festival. Events such as a nettle pudding and Four Thieves vinegar tasting contest, demonstrations for making a burdock tincture, talks about the tea trade, soap in Colonial America, and mead making were lined up throughout the day.
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| L to R: Cooking over an open fire pit, grogg spices and recipe for sale, packets of spice from Salem Spice/Picklepot. |
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| Nettle pudding tasting at the festival |
Shaded under the tall trees which were transitioning to
their fall color, we wandered in and out of the houses where period actors
dressed in costume would talk about what daily life might be like for their
character in 1630. They welcomed questions and were eager to share about life and
experience in Colonial Salem.
Outside a black pot was suspended over a fire pit and various foods (not for public consumption) were on display such as nettle
pudding and Four Thieves vinegar (consisting of thyme,
rosemary, sage, lavender, mint, garlic and apple cider vinegar) traditionally used for its medicinal properties.
In the medicinal herb garden that was central to the
village, various apprenticed students from the Green
Witch School of Herbalism offered presentations about particular herbs,
leaves, or roots which were cultivated for various uses in that time. Around
the garden a gentleman bedecked in period garb played cheerful song on his
fiddle which only added to the magical atmosphere of the festival. Here's a short video clip of his lovely fiddle playing.
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| Four Thieves vinegar on display |
On the perimeter of the village a number tables were set up showcasing
local (present-day) food merchants and businesses in Salem such as Salem
Spice/PicklePot, Jo Freedom Coffee, Ziggy’s and Sons Donuts, Day of the Dog, Ye Olde Pepper Companie, Atlantic Saltworks, and many others.
It was here that we
first encountered Karen Scalia, owner of the outstanding Salem Food Tours who
plied us with one of Ziggy’s cinnamon sugar donuts. (Read about our incredible experience taking a Salem Food Tour).
Crafts were set up for the children such as “painting” with
glue and using various ground and whole spices to decorate their picture. The
program also mentioned there was a scavenger hunt, a corn-husk doll making
activity, and kids could try to write with a quill. Sadly, we didn’t catch one
of the “weed walks” hosted by Artemesia Botanicals but as Artemesia is one of
most fascinating stores in Salem, we are confident it would have been quite
interesting.
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| L to R: Visiting local vendors, Salem Spice Festival poster, an village actor inside a cottage. |
One of the most delightfully entertaining moments was
listening to the animated storytelling offered by Black Cat Tours. We were
regaled with tales of Salem’s spice trade history and the challenges of
skirting dangerous seafaring pirates while Salem’s spice importing grew.
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| The Black Cat Tours storytelling was one of the highlights of the festival. |
The
storytellers were intriguing, riveting and intentionally hilarious. The two
actors played off one another with great energy, gusto, and a twinkle in their
eyes. The storytelling was very well-done and one of the highlights for us on
an already memorable day. Here's a short video clip we took of the Black Cat Tours' performance at the Salem Spice Festival.
The festival was free of charge but a donation is
appreciated to support the event. It was a family-friendly event and would be fairly
easy to maneuver a stroller if needed.
The space was contained within fencing and
is surrounded by open woods. We spent a relaxing 90 minutes there and parking was very easy. Forest
Park where the village is located is a 10-minute drive from Salem center. If
you’re planning to spend a day in this wonderful city, it’s about a 30 minute
walk between the historic downtown and the Pioneer Village.
The 3rd Annual Salem Spice Festival will be
taking place Saturday and Sunday, September 11th and 11th, 2016. Click here for event details.
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