About The Festival

The Salem Comedy & Spirits Festival was established in 2016 by stand-up comedian Mark Scalia with the intention to celebrate comedy, comedians and spirits in historic Salem, MA.

In 2001, Mark was invited to the New Orleans Comedy Festival. While attending, he made great friends, contacts and had amazing shows. "That festival was unlike any other ones I've participated in the past." Mark says. "The comics were all there to perform and have fun. It wasn't a contest as a lot of festivals are and because of that, the comics didn't feel competition towards each other. It made it feel more like family and everyone was supportive."

Mark's goal of creating The Salem Comedy & Spirits Festival is to have comics network with each other, be supportive, entertain Salem residents and enjoy amazing locally made products and spirits.