Buy books for cheap, get an early start on Halloween festivities and celebrate the history and legacy of Native Americans this weekend in Salem. This is your guide to events for Thursday, Oct. 5, through Monday, Oct. 9.
Catch a live show
The cast of the Emmy-nominated show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” will be in Salem Thursday, Oct. 5, as part of their improv tour, Whose Live Anyway?
Cast members Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray will perform 90 minutes of improvised comedy and songs based on suggestions from the audience.
Those who attend can also expect memorable improv games from the show as well as new games, with musical direction by Bob Derkach.
“Audience participation is key to the show so bring your suggestions and you might be asked to join the cast onstage!,” an event listing said.
All ages are allowed but the audience should expect some “PG-13” language, according to the listing.
Tickets range from $35 to $55, and prices will be $5 more on the day of the show. The event will be at the Elsinore Theatre, 70 High St. S.E. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Chemeketa Community College on Saturday, Oct. 7, will kick off a four-part concert series dubbed Night of a Thousand Lights, featuring “an intimate and romantic setting with breathtaking small ensembles and vocalists,” according to an event listing.
Night of a Thousand Lights will begin with a performance by composer Katie Harman.
“In 2017, Katie Harman began a search for the works and stories of hidden female composers,” the listing said. “As she scaled mountains of research – all while heavily pursuing her own professional journey as a musician – she noticed patterns of struggle among female creatives throughout history and across genres.”
Harman is the founder of Virtuosa Society, a membership-based women’s program that brings together creators and entrepreneurs. She also won Miss America in 2002.
Tickets can be bought online and range from $15 to $20.
The Pentacle Theatre is also continuing its three-week run of performing “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” a Tony-award-winning musical comedy.
The musical follows aristocrat Monty Navarro’s pursuit of earldom as he plots to kill his eight unsuspecting relatives who are ahead of him in line to inherit.
“This young man tries to ingratiate himself to the family. They don’t really give him a lot of opportunities, until something happens. And then he takes that opportunity, capitalizes on it, and climbs the ladder in a most auspicious way,” according to director Loriann Schmidt.
The show runs through Saturday, Oct. 21. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
The Pentacle Theatre is located at 324 52nd Ave. N.W. Tickets range from $20 to $45, and they can be bought online or by calling 503-485-4300. Students and Oregon Trail Card holders are eligible for a 50% discount.
Fresh foods and artisan products
Visit LifeSource Natural Foods on Saturday, Oct. 7, and you’ll find live music, free samples, tastings, contests, giveaways and a plant sale.
The Fall Food Fair will be held on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those who join the store’s shopping program LifeSourceBounty will get 20% off all regular priced items.
You can see more about the event on Facebook.
The West Salem Artisan Market is also back this Saturday, intended to “support and empower emerging artists focusing on people from historically marginalized communities,” according to an event listing.
The market hosts rotating vendors from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first and third Saturday of each month at At The Corner Art Gallery & Community Creative Space, 1105 Edgewater St. SW.
Every Saturday through mid-March, Wavra Farms in southeast Salem will also host its Indoor Winter Market with over 30 rotating vendors.
“Our greenhouses transform into an Indoor Farmer’s Marketplace. Vendors have been invited to sell what they make, grow, or raise,” an event listing said.
The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Discount books
The Salem Public Library will have books, CDs and DVDs available for keeps this weekend at its fall book sale.
The sale begins on Thursday, Oct. 5, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with Friends Night, which gives early access to Friends of the Salem Public Library members.
For the general public, the sale will be Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m. Find the sale downstairs in the library’s Anderson Rooms A&B.
The library will have paperbacks on sale for $0.75, hardcovers for $1.25, children’s and teens’ books for $0.50, and audio or visual material for $0.50-$1.
You can find more information by going to the Friends of Salem Public Library Bookstore inside the library, visiting the Friends website or calling 503-362-1755.
Pick up a hand-weaved piece
The Salem Fiberarts Guild returns to the Willamette Heritage Center on Friday, Oct. 6, and Saturday, Oct. 7, for its annual Handweavers’ Sale.
The sale has been a tradition in Salem since the 1980s as a fundraiser for both the heritage center and the guild, while giving members an opportunity to sell their handmade items.
“To add to the fun we have rug hookers, hand stitchers, lace makers, tatters, weavers, spinners, knitters and more – it varies from year to year,” an event listing said.
The event will be held in the Dye House at the heritage center, 1313 Mill Street S.E. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Early Halloween festivities
You don’t have to wait until the end of the month to get your spooky on in Salem.
Powerland Heritage Park will host Halloween-themed activities every weekend through October.
Those who visit the park’s trolley car barn can take a time-traveling trip to Atlantis. “Guests are visiting the ‘Salem Time Travel Institute’ when an urgent request comes from Atlantis. The city’s shields are failing! Guests will need to deliver a time crystal in order to save the city. This is a non-scary, highly decorated and colorful experience. Kids use black lights to highlight items in the adventure,” according to Joe Tracey, the park’s marketing director.
Visitors can also pick out a pumpkin to take home, take a wagon ride pulled by a giant steam traction engine or go on unlimited trolley rides with a skeleton hunt – and anyone who finds finds all the skeletons will get to spin a prize wheel.
The park at 3995 Brooklake Rd. N.E. will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $14 for kids, and they can be bought onsite or online.
Create your own art piece
The Hallie Ford Museum of Art on Saturday, Oct. 7, will host “an afternoon of artmaking,” according to an event listing.
This year’s Family Activity Day will feature monoprints from artist and educator Sonia Allen, with a printing press, mosaics and clay activities. There will also be demonstrations from Stephanie Craig of Kalapuya Weaving and Consulting, LLC and her apprentice Dakota Zimmer, both members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
Bobby Mercier, also a member of the Grand Ronde tribe, will perform a re-dedication of his work Hayash-Man, which was first dedicated at last year’s event, the event listing said.
The free event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. in the Maribeth Collins Lobby at the museum, 700 State St.
Indigenous Peoples Day
Salem’s Indigenous Now will host its 6th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Monday at the Gerry Frank Salem Rotary Amphitheater.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the history and legacy of Native Americans, who have lived in the U.S. for tens of thousands of years and have deep roots in Oregon. It also recognizes the history of colonialism and its devastation on Native communities.
The day is also intended to bring people together to celebrate Native culture.
The event will feature speakers, performers, music and a variety of vendors. Snacks and drinks will be provided as well as Spanish and ASL interpretation.
People can sign up online to volunteer or table at the event, which is scheduled for 1-6 p.m.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
