SALEM, MA — The heart of the Halloween season in the holiday's unofficial hometown will kick off next week with a screening of the movie many credit with spurring the massive Witch City October tourism boom of the past three decades.
On Thursday, a free outdoor screening of "Hocus Pocus" in Derby Square will accompany the opening of the Old Town Hall Food Court.
Special guests and "Hocus Pocus" stars Doug Jones and Jason Marsden will be there for the screening presented by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, with Huluween on Disney+.
Viewers are encouraged to bring their own seating. The Food Court at Old Town Hall opens the same day and will serve through at least the film's start.
The movie night is followed by Mayor's Night Out on Friday and the first artisan markets on Salem Common and in Derby Square on Sept. 26–27.
Markets and programming continue every weekend through Nov. 1.
Produced by Creative Collective, the Marketplace exists to give local artists, makers, and small businesses a real place in front of the 1.8 million+ visitors who come to Salem each October.
This year there will be more than 200 independent makers and small businesses across five venues, with six locally owned food businesses at Old Town Hall, local performers every weekend, and local breweries and spirits makers at Charlotte Forten Park. Admission is free at every venue.
"We've always put local partnerships first, because October isn't just a great month here — it's the month that carries the rest of the year," said John Andrews, Founder & President of Creative Collective. "The support that flows to small businesses, local retailers and restaurants over these weeks helps pay for so much of what we get to enjoy as locals from November through September.
"A maker in a tent on the Common is part of that, and so is the shop across the street. The Marketplace is how we make sure more of that support lands right here at home."
North Shore Glass School brings the Salem Glass Pumpkin Patch to the Common for the first time this year.
The patch features hundreds of one-of-a-kind glass pumpkins handmade in Salem on historic Gallows Hill, alongside a wider selection of locally made glass art. This year introduces Salem Glass Witch Ball Co. and its first collection of handblown witch balls. Guest makers include Gold Coast Glass, Vesper Glassworks, Sins and Scents, and Wicked Ghost Hunters.
Two of this year's venues are new. Charlotte Forten Park and the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall add to the downtown spaces that Creative Collection manages during Haunted Happenings.
"The city put two more public spaces in our hands this year, and we don't take that lightly," Andrews said. "We'll fill Forten Park and the Pedestrian Mall with the people who make Salem worth the trip, and the good that comes from that shows up long after the last tent comes down."
Old Town Hall at 32 Derby Square becomes a seasonal food court with locally owned food businesses. Three Hundred Fifty, Cha Feo, Spitfire Tacos and Crepe du Jour open the season, with Salem Farmers Market favorites La Frontera Sabrosa and Bridges Nepali Cuisine joining the lineup as the season goes on. Offerings vary by date.
The food court runs Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 24 to November 1, plus Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12. Regular hours are noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 12. Opening night extends through at least 8:30 p.m. for the screening.
Halloween hours are 11 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Admission is free; food purchases are separate.
Admission to the patch and markets is free; purchases are separate.
The Cannery at Charlotte Forten Park is set to launch on Oct. 1, alongside Holy Cow and Empanada Kingdom. The park on Derby Street will bring food, an outdoor bar and seasonal programming into one stop along the waterfront, with artisan vendors joining Oct. 3. Creative Collective and the team at The Cannery are working with local breweries and spirits companies to make locally made drinks available.
Other highlights include:
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