John Leslie sits at the piano, deftly bouncing his fingers on the keys like a child popping bubbles floating in the air. He briefly looks up with a big grin and expressive eyes that easily lend themselves to his on-stage aura. He looks back down and speedily moves his hands along the keyboard, almost as […]
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New England traditions at the Salem Cross Inn’s Fireplace Feasts
The historic Salem Cross Inn sits along Route 9 in West Brookfield, MA, like a welcoming stop for travelers en route in a horse and carriage. At this season’s Fireplace Feast, the horse and carriage really is part of the experience. This season of the Fireplace Feast dining event started in November 2016 and runs until […]
Charity and Christmas Spirit at Orchard House’s “An Alcott Christmas Stocking”
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” laments Jo March in the opening scene of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. But in this year’s Christmas program, “An Alcott Christmas Stocking” at the real-life Alcott family home in Concord, MA, the residents of Orchard House ensure that Christmas will certainly be Christmas for a lucky girl named […]
Hocus Pocus, different focus: Ropes Mansion gives visitors a glimpse into four generations of Ropes family life
Waiting in the long line outside the white 1727 Ropes mansion, you often hear visitors, in authoritarian voices, informing others around them that only the outside of the house was used for one of the locations in the ‘90s Halloween classic movie, Hocus Pocus. Though the film’s cult following is one of the draws, visiting the home of […]
A Dickens of a time at the Fezziwig Ball
Stepping into the Salem Old Town Hall in Salem, MA, on December 10, for a moment, you might think you have time traveled where people from all across the 19th century converged for a Christmas celebration. Ladies in hoop skirts with their hair in intricate curls converse with men in Regency tailcoats in the downstairs hall. Outside, […]