The City of Salem’s free October weekend shuttle returns on October 5th for its seventh year. This season the service will run for four weekends in October, from three satellite parking lots.

Shuttles will run October 5-6, October 12-14 (service provided on Indigenous Peoples’ Day), October 19-20, and October 26-27 from 10 am to 8 pm between three free satellite parking lots and downtown Salem. Free satellite parking lots are located at Salem State University’s O’Keefe Center parking lot (225 Canal Street), Salem High School (77 Willson Street), and at 108 Jefferson Avenue behind Salem Hospital. Together the three satellite lots offer nearly 800 free parking spaces. The downtown pick-up/drop-off location is in Riley Plaza. An accessible shuttle is available for those who require one.

“Allowing people to park at these satellite lots has helped reduce demand for downtown parking and lessen the number of cars driving into and around downtown,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “Since the City of Salem began this service in 2017, the service has kept thousands of cars out of downtown Salem. While a lot of visitors use the shuttle, we also see many Salem residents use it to easily get to and from downtown Salem on October weekends. I encourage everyone planning a visit to Salem this October to make use of the free satellite parking lots and this shuttle service.”

Thursday, October 3, 2024
6:30pm-8:00pm

The 27th Annual Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade will take place, as always, on the first Thursday of October, October 3rd, 2024. The parade will follow the normal route from Prime Group Shetland Park to Salem Common.

The theme for this year’s Parade is “Our Time on Earth”, inspired by the 2024 exhibition that was previously on view at the Peabody Essex Museum, which should give parade participants a wide array of costumes and stories to tell!

“Our Time on Earth” was part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative. The traveling exhibition from the Barbican Centre in London celebrated the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency. The structures and design featured in the exhibition were sourced from biodegradable, sustainable materials to minimize carbon footprint. And the exhibit challenged the audience to imagine the ideal future world. What will it look like? How will we use the precious time we have here on earth?  What will it take to live together in harmony? And that’s exactly what the Salem Chamber hopes all students and schools will do this year: use everyone’s creativity to talk and educate about the climate crisis.  Looking for ideas or inspiration for your costume? Explore #OurTimeOnEarth on Instagram!

The Parade is a special nighttime tradition for the city of Salem and visitors alike to officially kick off Salem’s Halloween season. The evening should be a night full of color, pageantry, music, and the enthusiasm of thousands of Salem’s students from kindergarten to college plus many local business owners. Over 15,000 spectators (children, adults, and those in between) are expected to attend.

Parade Route: Congress Street, Derby Street, Central Street, Front Street, Washington Street, Essex Street, Salem Common

• Do not bring weapons, real or fake. They will be confiscated.

• Public consumption of alcohol is prohibited.

• Arrive no later than 8:30 PM so you have time to make the most of your Halloween experience in Salem.

• Do not park in “Resident Parking” zones. You will be fined and may be towed.

• Be considerate of private property and Salem’s downtown residents.

• Be patient! Road closures and details are numerous on October 31. 

• The party ends after the fireworks at 10:15 PM. Police and Public Works Departments will clear streets and sidewalks at 10:30.