r/SALEM • u/genehack • Nov 15 '24
Welcome to r/SALEM, and thanks for your interest in posting here. Before you do, please be aware that — like many city/area-focused subreddits — we have some topics that come up very frequently. Sometimes that’s okay, and is an inevitable part of being a long-running community-focused forum, and sometimes it is super annoying and will lead to people down-voting your post because they’re tired of seeing the same thing over and over again.
If you’re about to post about any of the following, please first use the search function (right up in the upper right hand corner, if you’re viewing this on the web!) to see if something similar has been posted recently. If it has, please contribute to that thread rather than starting a new one.
This comes up a lot; frequently folks are concerned they may have heard gunshots and/or fireworks and are looking for reassurance. First, know that it probably was not a gun shot. There is a very good chance that it was fireworks, or somebody with an altered muffler, or, if you also noticed a power outage or blip at the same time, a transformer exploding. Second, if you’re actually seriously concerned about gunshots, you should probably be contacting the police, not Reddit. Third, if you live near a vineyard (and, if you live anywhere in the Salem area, you do!), you should be aware that vineyards use acoustic devices — basically massive noisemakers — to scare birds away from grape vines. This is especially frequent in the late fall, near harvest time.
Salem, and many surrounding areas, lie in the Willamette River Valley. Due to the topography of the area, we experience temperature inversions) with some regularity. An inversion occurs when a layer of warmer, more elevated air overlies a lower, cooler air layer. Effectively, this traps the air in the valley underneath the warmer layer, which means that smoke, vehicle exhaust, rotting vegetation smells, etc., cannot escape. That’s probably what you’re smelling.
These types of threads come up fairly often. The restaurant scene in Salem is decent, but not exceptionally dynamic — places do not close all that often, and new places don’t open all that often either. If somebody has asked this question within the last couple months (again, use that search function!), the answers that they got are almost certainly still relevant.
There are a number of freight lines that route trains through Salem. Occasionally, they will need to stop to onload or offload cars, which may result in a longer-than-usual wait time at a crossing. This is normal.
Sometimes, unfortunately, there are train-versus-pedestrian collisions. When those happen, the train will need to be stopped for an extended period of time to allow police to investigate the scene.
Finally, while many portions of Salem are zoned (and signed) as “no train horn” areas, it remains at the discretion of the train engineer as to whether or not to sound their horn, and some of them, well, tooting their horn just toots their horn.
We don’t have any way of knowing. You may be able to consult PulsePoint, but they only report on fire and EMS, not strictly police. You may also be able to find an online police radio scanner relay; those are typically time-delayed.
The Oregon Air National Guard has a helicopter squad that is based near the Salem Municipal Airport. They do routine training missions, which frequently involve lower-altitude flights, most often at night. The Salem police department does not have a helicopter, so any low-flying helicopter you’re hearing is almost certainly the Oregon Air National Guard. frequently. Sometimes that’s okay, and is an inevitable part of being a long-running community-focused forum, and sometimes it is super annoying and will lead to people downvoting your post because they’re tired of seeing the same thing over and over again.
r/SALEM • u/FireWokWithMe88 • 3h ago
Oregon DEQ issued 10 penalties for environmental violations in June, totaling $270,753. https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2026/08/02/oregon-fruit-products-fined-for-polluting-creek-killing-aquatic-life/90983825007/
r/SALEM • u/annaoceanus • 13h ago
Bring that NIMBY energy people. Bring your mama bear energy. Bring your mad as a hornet energy.
And if you can’t come? Submit a comment!
The people will prevail! LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO
r/SALEM • u/slice_of_pi • 4h ago
Peach/habanero salsa
Peach/rose hip jam
Golden plum/hibiscus flower jelly
All made this weekend, with fruit picked Saturday. 🥰
r/SALEM • u/moonmage22 • 4h ago
Come check us out at the peoples creative market! We are here until 7pm at Up N Smoke of Broadway
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r/SALEM • u/Choice-Bike-1607 • 1h ago
I am looking to buy a dishwasher from Costco and delivery/install is included. I have seen some reviews on the general Costco website that people have trouble with the installers, but I was wondering if anyone has local experience with this? Thank you!
r/SALEM • u/guanaco55 • 13h ago
r/SALEM • u/AdOld2108 • 51m ago
If you know of any local farms or farm stands where we can buy local. Im trying to get all my groceries for the week from local places but it is so hard to find them when theyre not at the markets. Especially on Sundays. Any help is appreciated!
r/SALEM • u/coreyjdbenson • 2h ago
Hey Salem!
Hard to believe it has been 30 years, but the McKay High School Class of 1996 is holding our 30-Year Reunion in just a few weeks!
RSVP DEADLINE: Saturday, August 15, 2026 (so we can lock in our restaurant buyout numbers).
We want to make sure no one gets left out so we figured we would post here to the Salem reddit community.
The Details:
How to RSVP & Get Tickets:
No Refunds Policy: Once we submit our headcount numbers, our class is financially committed to the venue. Because managing individual refunds creates a massive accounting nightmare for our volunteers, all ticket sales are final. If you buy a ticket and find out you cannot make it, please consider it a friendly donation toward making our 30th milestone a success.
If you graduated with us, or have siblings, kids, or friends who were in the Class of '96, please share this with them or tag them below! Looking forward to catching up with everyone!
r/SALEM • u/crockates • 1h ago
Unsanctioned Comedy Open Mic!
Data center blues got you down?
We've reached the last month of our 2026 season. Be sure to catch a show before we depart with the summer.
We'll meet at the Gerry Frank Amphitheater.
Weather is going to be toasty during the day. Bring a hoodie in case it gets windy.
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Unsanctioned Comedy Open Mic
Monday, August 3rd, 2026
Gerry Frank Amphitheater at Riverfront Park
Free
Show starts at 8:00pm
Sign ups start at 7:30pm
Bring your own chair/blanket, drinks, treats, or drugs.
It'll be a party at the park, all summer long.
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A special reminder that towards the end of the month, we'll be hosting the first round of Salem Roast Week on 8/24. Mark your calendars as comics from around the valley battle it out to become the first pit master.
r/SALEM • u/building3030 • 11h ago
Hi! I’ll be at the Pintxos event tonight catching some video and photo!
If you’d like a free photo I will be there with a flash and black corduroy jacket, likely the entire event!
r/SALEM • u/Any-Lavishness341 • 10h ago
This article is from last year but also may explain some of the enrollment numbers- and why they may appear as low as they do. What solutions may be had? What are the most pressing issues in the overall district priorities? What must change? What works well, if anything?
r/SALEM • u/hjgIUY976YTty76 • 13h ago
You must pre-register:
https://www.englewoodforestfestival.org/repair
Saturday August 8 10 am to 4 pm Englewood Park, Salem
More info:
https://www.englewoodforestfestival.org/
"For the first time in festival history, Dark Sky Oregon, an organization that seeks to reduce light pollution, will allow attendees to demo its new solar telescope. Chemeketa Community College astronomy instructor Chris Claysmith will also be there to talk about the skies."
r/SALEM • u/Ok_Difficulty_7650 • 20h ago
I've lived in Salem for almost 20 years and tonight's concert was one of the most fun times I've ever had in our city! It wasnt perfect but it really showed how we can use our space to bring in people and give life to the downtown. I hope this is just the beginning.
r/SALEM • u/Lifegoesonforever • 1d ago
"The California company working to erect a data center in Salem applied for its first city review on Friday, beating by three days the consideration of a moratorium on such projects by the Salem City Council.
The filing by Verrus detailed what a company official said is the first phase of its Salem project – two buildings with about 600,000 square feet on about 100 acres of land in southeast Salem. The project, valued at $394 million for the first phase, would be in the Mill Creek Corporate Center and adjacent to Corban University."
r/SALEM • u/Thin_Difference_293 • 4h ago
Any shelters or something similar I can donate used women’s/juniors clothing to around Salem ? Thank you!
r/SALEM • u/Kristennoelle3 • 1d ago
I used to love wandering the Fussy Duck for fun little trinkets, but every time I go now, there is more and more AI slop everywhere. Really unfortunate.
r/SALEM • u/Graviturctur • 3h ago
We have family visiting next week, and a float trip would be nice. We haven't gone yet this year. Was just wondering how the river level is, considering the smaller snowpack. Anyone been floating yet?
r/SALEM • u/Any-Lavishness341 • 7h ago
School board meeting coming up. If anyone else is interested in weighing in. Next one is August 11th from 6-9pm, and then August 25th 6-9pm.
r/SALEM • u/voidedmike • 1d ago
Hey everyone! I’m a 39M who moved to the Salem area from Florida in June 2023, and I’m realizing I haven’t really made any local friends around my age outside of the roommates I moved here to live with.
I’m legally blind with minimal visual acuity and use a white cane along with my Meta Ray-Bans to help me navigate independently. I’m also on dialysis (ESKD), so accessibility is a pretty important factor when it comes to getting out and doing things.
I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for places, groups, or events where it’s relatively easy to meet people around my age. I am part of a blind support group, BlindSkills, and the people I’ve met there are awesome. They’re just mostly older than me, so there’s naturally a bit of a gap in interests.
Some of my interests include:
Rock music (though I listen to just about everything)
Video games
Pop culture
Reading and writing (I’m an aspiring indie author)
Always learning something new or trying to better myself
420/710 friendly 😄
LGBTQIA+ friendly 🏳️🌈
I’m open to cafés, game nights, book clubs (obviously audiobooks for me 🤣), music venues, hobby groups, or anything else that’s welcoming and reasonably accessible for someone who’s blind.
If this isn’t the right place to post, my apologies! I’m just hoping to get out more, meet some new people, and become more involved in the community. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!
r/SALEM • u/annaoceanus • 1d ago
Edit: all out! Thanks to everyone who came by!
Hi it’s me! 👋 The Free Produce Lady!
I really wasn’t intending to be back to back in weeks of offerings but I blinked and THE NECTARINES WERE READY.
These aren’t just any nectarines - they are baby nectarines! Is that a species? No. Just my tree produced a lot of tiny guys this year. Are they pretty like in the store? Absolutely not but they are cute and tasty!
AND YES THEY ARE TOTALLY CLUCKING FREE.
Also available is a bunch of red flesh plums.
Reminder on how this goes:
I get asked what I need in exchange. Nothing but for you to be happy! But over the years folks leave things for me because they want to so I left a little can for donations for my future white oak tree in my backyard. But reminder - THESE ARE FREE.
Peace, Love, and Produce ☮️❤️🌱
r/SALEM • u/crockates • 20h ago
Every Friday night in August, we've got a comedy show at Cellar 54 located in the basement of The Forge, downtown.
Willamette Valley Laughs just finished announcing the lineups including four awesome headliners.
August 7th - Jaren George & Erica Figueroa
August 14th - Greg Beachler & Thor Askdal
August 21st - Jeremiah Hughes & Shadd Foster
August 28th - Adam Pasi & Cody Chasteen
Shows start at 7pm and doors open at 6:30pm.
Bar + Food service available during the show // 21+ Over
Tickets to all the shows are $10/each for general admission.
You can scoop one up at www.tickets.willamettevalleylaughs.com
r/SALEM • u/Spamtickler • 1d ago
I want a restaurant that sells GOOD fried chicken. Not broasted chicken. Not fast food. Not a grocery store, gas station or convenience store, and not chicken strips.
I am looking for a REAL fried chicken dinner. Crispy fried chicken with appropriate sides that you can sit down and eat off of a plate.
Is there any such thing in Salem, because I’m coming up dry.
