Greetings! 

It’s another wonderful Tuesday! How is everyone doing now that we’ve settled into the new year? Personally, I’ve caught myself saying 2025 twice, haha. 

Before we get into the rest of the newsletter, I wanted to issue a correction regarding last week’s newsletter. Flower Crush is out of The Reed Underground and actually open in 357 Court St. NE. All the coffee/tea service, dried flowers, catering, and soup service are now in that location. I hope you can check out owner Maile’s business and welcome her into downtown. 

One common new year’s resolution is to pick up a new hobby. This week, I’m sharing resources on where around the city you could get resources in order to start! (Note: this is primarily a adults oriented hobby list, if there is interest for a children’s activities list, please let me know.) Depending on what those hobbies are, maybe you just want to meet with other hobbyists too, y’know? I think it makes the activities more fun, in certain regards. 

So strap in, let’s make more room for new hobbies in our lives! I personally am trying out embroidery. Have other suggestions for what future topics should be? Let me know at [email protected].

Threading my needle,

Em Chan

Okay…Now this is Jacob

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Hobbies can vary, from creative to sporty and everywhere in between. Some activities you might not even consider hobbies because they’re more rare to see people do as a pastime. But whatever you decide to do, I hope this guide can be of help. A side note, not every place qualifiable for every hobby will be listed. There are just so many places! 

Embroidery, quilting, or just general sewing is a useful skill plus there’s lots of fun crafts to be made. Or you’ve decided to go into felting, crocheting, knitting, macrame… the list goes on. There’s variations with tools or with your hands, depending on the specific fabric or project you’re working on. 

This is pretty self-explanatory. You’re looking for a way to get outside or bring more exercise into your life in a fun way. Most of the ones that may come to mind are probably recreational sports leagues, but there are also some solo activities too, like yoga, martial arts, and tai chi, just to name a few. There’s also some more wildcard options, like dance, aerial, acro dance, poledancing, and circus that is offered in Salem. Who would’ve thought, right?

(Editor’s note: If you want fitness to be your hobby, be sure to join us for our conference Energize and Elevate on Friday 😁. Get your ticket here.)

So you want a more classic hobby? Drawing, painting, sculpting, and photography are all in this broad category. Or, you want to delve into journaling, scrapbooking, and collaging – which are technically their own kind of category, but share lots of overlap in terms of where and how to start, so I’ve put them together.

You want to learn a language or other skills? This is the place to be! Whether you want to do something with your hands like building or woodworking, or just passively learn something, there’s always something in this sphere going on. 

Who doesn’t love to take up a food-related hobby? Cooking or baking, it’s very utilitarian. I will say there’s not as much in this category in Salem than the others, but there’s a few. 

It’s stereotypical to say, “just pick up hiking!” But there’s more to outdoor and nature hobbies than just hiking – there’s birdwatching, geocaching, kayaking, stargazing, paddleboarding, foraging, and even farming. Plus, if none of these speak to you, you can also move the location of some of your hobbies outside, like yoga, crafting, photography, or recreational sports. 

Volunteering or group-specific activities are great hobbies if you’re looking for community. Even hobby groups like book clubs, transform otherwise solo activities. I’ll just list as many interesting ones I can find and maybe you’ll discover your next favorite thing… I actually wrote a clubs around Salem list, which you can read in a previous newsletter here!

Phew! What a list! 

I love going out and exploring the community (duh) but I’ve also been trying to get more hobbies. I hope you all can try a new hobby this year, and find some enjoyment in time for yourself and with others who also enjoy the same hobbies. Life is not just for working, but for living a little! If you tried a new hobby, please let me know of your experience - I love getting to know our readers! I’m reachable at em@whatshappeningsalem. Until next week~

Making my next baked good, 

Em Chan

Winter sports are here! Like the fall season, I’ll be sharing the schedules of our high school games/matches/meets for the season. Any storylines I should mention or know? Let me know at [email protected]. Here’s the games/matches/meets you can check out this week:

Boys’ and girls’ swimming happen at the same meet, thus have their own events. 

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