Satan and Sathan: the Devil, the Familiar and the Witch
The witch's familiar, said to be a half-animal, half-demon hybrid was integral to the witch trials in England and New England. The role of the familiar became so important that that it literally became the law in the Massachusetts Bay Colony--to be a witch was to interact with a familiar. To be a witch was a crime punishable by death. But the witch's familiar has perplexed historians for years. Krystina Yeager has began to explore the belief in the witch's familiar and how it was a culmination of the overall changing beliefs in the 16th and 17th centuries when it came to the devil, the witch, and God himself. Join her on April 12, 2025 at the Witch House from 6-7:30 to learn more.
Krystina Yeager (she/her) is a historian with an MA in history, specializing in the early modern witch trials of England and New England, with a particular focus on the role of the witch’s familiar. She has presented her research at conferences across the country and internationally, shedding light on the intersections of folklore, law, and religious transformation in witchcraft accusations. Krystina likes to say she is mostly interested in the history that people don't like to talk about and how highlighting these stories upend the established historical narrative over time.
Daisies & Daffodils: Spring Flowers Medicine
We see flowers like daisies and daffodils as signs of Spring, while in Massachusetts Bay colony they meant fresh ingredients to craft cures. Both these plants were known to the early settlers. Daisy seeds were brought to Massachusetts in 1631. Daffodils, or narcissus, where a mainstay in English gardens for centuries and the ancient Greeks wrote of their healing properties.
Join Dan Marshall as he demonstrates the tools and techniques of turning flowers into medicine in the 17th & 18th centuries. Dan will explore both European and American colonial sources that shed light on how this knowledge crossed the Atlantic and how it was put into practice here.
Dan Marshall has shared his love of history with the public for 25 years. He is currently a Salem Historical Society Board Member and the Director of Education & Interpretation with the Lexington Historical Society
Community Beading Program (Canceled)
Let's Create Together!
Join Indigenous Artist And Massachusett Tribe Historian/Educator Thomas Green For An Interactive Bead Looming Program.
Saturday Dec 14, 1:00 to 4:30
*Free Event * Supplies Provided*
This is one session in a series to be completed by December 2024. It is hoped, but not required, that participants will attend multiple sessions. At the end of the program Thomas Green will use a sample of each individual attendees completed works to create a shared piece that will be on public display.
For more information email epeterson@salem.com
Hosted by the City of Salem Pioneer Village
Sold Out!-Community Beading Program
Let's Create Together!
Join Indigenous Artist And Massachusett Tribe Historian/Educator Thomas Green For An Interactive Bead Looming Program.
Saturday Nov 16, 10:00-1:00
*Free Event * Supplies Provided*
This is one session in a series to be completed by December 2024. It is hoped, but not required, that participants will attend multiple sessions. At the end of the program Thomas Green will use a sample of each individual attendees completed works to create a shared piece that will be on public display.
Additional Sessions will be held:
December 14, 1-4:30
For more information email epeterson@salem.com
Hosted by the City of Salem Pioneer Village
Flag Raising
Massachusett Tribe Flag Raising and Presentations for Indigenous People's Day
'Native Spaces' Launch Event
The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, in partnership with the City of Salem, is proud to announce the launch of "Native Spaces," a groundbreaking audio-based, digital public art project. Initiated by Boston-based artist Sarah Kanouse and Massachusett elder Elizabeth Solomon, this collaborative effort will be officially unveiled on October 11, 2024, at 10 AM in the Salem City Council Chambers.
"Native Spaces" invites the public to experience the rich tapestry of Indigenous history and presence in Salem through an innovative, location-aware digital platform. In particular, the project showcases varied perspectives on land, property, and the historic 1686"deed" that, in the view of the colonial government, transferred the Massachusett village of Naumkeag to English colonists. Colorful, sun-like medallions placed throughout Salem's public spaces serve as gateways to this immersive audio experience.
The launch event on October 11 will feature:
A panel discussion with project creators
Distribution of project flyers with a map
A group listening session for audio virtually located near City Hall
As a born-digital project, "Native Spaces" will continue to evolve. Additional programming planned for winter 2024-2025 will offer audience members the opportunity to record their own audio reflections about Native Spaces in Salem which may be incorporated into the project's evolving sonic tapestry.
Lanterns In The Village
Ghost stories read aloud amidst glowing jack-o-lanterns and candlelit cottages.
Lanterns In The Village
Ghost stories read amidst glowing jack-o-lanterns and candlelit cottages.
Tickets for tonight benefit Collins Middle School
Useful Plants of Pioneer Village—Food, Medicine, and More
Useful Plants of Pioneer Village—Food, Medicine, and More
An amazing number of the plants at Pioneer Village are nutritious food, or good medicine, and/or useful in other ways. Some are native and were already here when the settlers came, others were introduced. In this fun and informative walk you will learn about these wonderful plants and some of their uses, whether they are wild and weedy or cultivated and tame. Appreciating the useful plants around us helps us to treat plants and the environment with care and respect, so they are here for future generations. You will leave with new-found awe for our plant neighbors and the many gifts they offer us!
Meet at the wooden footbridge to Pioneer Village.
Bio:
Iris Weaver is a Bioregional Herbalist and Foraging Instructor. She leads plant walks locally and teaches classes and workshops on herbalism, herbal body care, and herbal crafts. Her emphasis is on sustainable uses of local plants.
Community Beading Program
Let's Create Together!
Join Indigenous Artist And Massachusett Tribe Historian/Educator Thomas Green For An Interactive Bead Looming Program.
Saturday Sept 14, 1:00 to 4:30
*Free Event * Supplies Provided*
This is one session in a series to be completed by December 2024. It is hoped, but not required, that participants will attend multiple sessions. At the end of the program Thomas Green will use a sample of each individual attendees completed works to create a shared piece that will be on public display.
Additional Sessions will be held:
November 16, 1-4:30
December 14, 1-4:30
For more information email epeterson@salem.com
Hosted by the City of Salem Pioneer Village
Sold Out! Community Beading Program
Let's Create Together!
Join Indigenous Artist And Massachusett Tribe Historian/Educator Thomas Green For An Interactive Bead Looming Program.
Saturday August 10th, 1:00 to 4:30
at the Community Life Center 401 Bridge Street
*Free Event * Supplies Provided*
This will be the first session in a series of five to be completed by December 2024. It is hoped, but not required that participants will attend all five of the sessions. At the end of the program Thomas Green will use a sample of each individual attendees completed works to create a shared piece that will be on public display.
Additional Sessions will be held:
September 14, 1-4:30
November 16, 1-4:30
December 14, 1-4:30
MASSACHUSETT TRIBE LAND BLESSING
Thomas (Spirit Tree) Green, enrolled member of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag will perform a spiritual cleansing and cultural blessing to honor the Pawtucket Bloodline Sachemship of Nanepashemet at the seat of his son, Wenepoiken, on August 9, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.o’clock. Attendees are asked to remain respectfully silent during this solemn act of remembrance. Thomas will be available afterwards for informal conversation.
We will gather at Furlong Park Franklin Street in Salem.
SOLD OUT!-COMMUNITY BEADING PROGRAM
Let's Create Together!
Join Indigenous Artist And Massachusett Tribe Historian/Educator Thomas Green For An Interactive Bead Looming Program.
Saturday July 13, 1:00 to 4:30
*Free Event * Supplies Provided*
This will be the first session in a series of five to be completed by December 2024. It is hoped, but not required that participants will attend all five of the sessions. At the end of the program Thomas Green will use a sample of each individual attendees completed works to create a shared piece that will be on public display.
Additional Sessions will be held:
August 10th, 1-4:30
September 14, 1-4:30
November 16, 1-4:30
December 14, 1-4:30
For more information email epeterson@salem.com
Hosted by the City of Salem Pioneer Village
Lanterns in the Village
Ghost stories shared amidst glowing jack-o-lanterns and candlelit cottages.
Ticket sales for Friday will go to support Collins Middle School. Tickets for Friday may be purchased here
Saturday’s event is CANCELED
Salem Ancestry Days: The Tradition of Weir-Fishing
Thomas Green, representative of the Massachusett Tribe, shares the ancient practice of weir fishing and fish smoking.
Space is limited. To make a free reservation click here
Fall Equinox
Fall Equinox
Saturday, September 17, 2022
12:00 PM 4:00 PM
How do we celebrate the Fall Equinox? Join us at the Village for crafts and cooking demo to usher in the fall season.
The Protestant and Puritan Way of Death
Professors Donna Seger and Emerson “Tad” Baker of the Salem State University History Department discuss the impact of the Protestant Reformation on death and funeral customs, in 16th, 17th, and 18th century Europe and America, with specific reference to the Old Burying Ground on Charter Street.
The event is free and online. Tickets may be reserved here
Fall Equinox
Come to the Village and celebrate the Fall Equinox with crafts, lectures and food demonstrations.
12:00: The fire is lit!
1:00: Exploring the history of the Autumn Equinox with Dr. Al Cummins
2:00:Personalize your Fall Equinox celebration
3:00: Autumn Harvest Food Demonstration
Folklore and Folk Magic of the Autumnal Equinox
The poet John Keats described the coming of Fall in the opening of his ode To Autumn by as ‘a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, going on to marvel at the ripening fruits, nuts, and vegetables from their vines, trees, and soil. This season’s equinox – where the mighty Sun briefly balances directly atop the earth’s girdling equator and the measures the day and night as equal in duration – sees many examples of harvest festivities, folklore, and customs surrounding honouring the earth.
In the folk catholic calendar of medieval Europe, around a week after the equinox comes Michaelmas – indeed, a feast of All Angels – replete with various yearly customs of social and economic import as well as plenty of folk magics for calling upon the strength of the Archangel Michael. In contemporary Pagan practices, the Autumnal Equinox is celebrated as Mabon, as Alban Elfed, as Harvest Home, and by many other names, as one of the centrally significant cross-quarter days. A time of in-gathering, and perhaps of preparing for our journey to the wintery lands of the dead for hallowed Samhain later in the year…
In this workshop, contemporary cunning-man and historian Dr Alexander Cummins will lead us in exploring and celebrating the folklore and folk magics of this season: from the many cultural observations of autumn festivals and customs, to omens divined from the turning of the climate. We will discuss the sorcerous uses of Fall’s bountiful fruits: how to use an apple to dream of a future lover or even to try to make a boy kiss you; how to use a nutshell to heal a wound; and so on.
Along with historical considerations, we will discuss ways of further celebrating and exploring the Autumnal Equinox in your home, daily life, and personal spiritual practice for the coming days of Fall. And we will end with some meditations and discussion to set forth and celebrate the coming of autumn’s blessings.
Salem Women's History Day
Elizabeth Solomon from the Massachusett Tribe will share information about women’s roles within the Northeastern Woodland Indigenous culture. Join us on the Naumkeag page of this website to view her talk.
Naumkeag Circle
Celebrate the legacy: Pioneer Village invites all members of the community to participate in the Naumkeag Circle community art project throughout the month of October, celebrating the legacy and history of the Indigenous peoples of Salem. Bring a stone to the Village and add it to the circle near the Naumkeag exhibit site. Stones can be plain, decorated, or written upon with messages for members of the Indigenous community, and should fit in the palm of your hand. Once completed, the Naumkeag Circle will be used to share stories and performances from the local Indigenous community and from cultures from around the world. Pioneer Village is open to the public from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week throughout October. Please remember to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing of at least six feet from others.
Hear the Voices
Hear the voices: Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag shares greetings from the Tribe and a Land Acknowledgement reading. After, Annawon Weeden of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe speaks about the history of the Mashpee Wampanoag and the cultural influences, contributions, and legacy of the Northeast Woodlands tribes. The presentation will be available online at www.thewitchhouse.org and www.pioneervillagesalem.org and broadcast on Salem Access TV.
Cancelled-Salem Spice Festival 2020
Come celebrate Salem’s four hundred year history of spices, herbs and tea. Vendors, music and seventeenth century recipes! Free admission, donations encouraged!
History Alive, Inc presents The Scarlet Letter
HIstory Alive, Inc. presents
The Scarlet Letter
Adapted by Dr. Peter Stine, Mark Stevick and Kristina Wacome Stevick
Directed by Kristina Wacome Stevick
At Salem 1630:Pioneer Village
Stage Management by Marc Ewart-Cyzon
Costumes by Carrie Midura
Walk with Nathaniel Hawthorne as he imagines his Romantic novel of guilt and penitence.
featuring
Mikayla Bishop as Hester Prynne
Daniel Lefferts as Arthur Dimmesdale
Carl Schultz as Roger Chillingworth
Laine August as Pearl
Jennifer Emerson as Mistress Hibbins
Macey Jennings as Mistress Sheridan
Dana Sheridan as Mistress Ewell
Jonathan Wacker as Master Brackett/Reverend Wilson
Lemaris Bell as Governor Bellingham
Free Parking is available in Forest River Park.
Meet Nathaniel Hawthorne at the head of the pathway to Pioneer Village.
Tickets ($30) and more information at: https://scarletletter.bpt.me
Lanterns In The Village
The village pathways are lined with glowing jack-o-lanterns! Ghost stories are read in the cottages. A fall family event not to be missed. Tickets $10.00. Click here to purchase.