We want to support performers, help visitors discover local talent, and make expectations clear for everyone sharing a very busy public space. This first-year approach combines reviewed placements, clear visitor interactions, a shared Code of Conduct and promotion of approved participants. We will use what we learn to improve the program.

Use the Pedestrian Mall space application if you need a designated place for your act or on-site service. Use the roaming performer registration if you want voluntary program participation and promotion as a roaming performer. The Code of Conduct still applies; this is not an application for approval of your routes or schedule.

If you want both, tell John and complete the relevant forms. Each track needs its own approval; one does not automatically include the other. If you are seeking a fee paid to you for a booked performance, use the separate paid performer application.

Approved participants may use “Official participant in the Haunted Happenings Marketplace program, managed by Creative Collective” while their program membership is active. Always identify the Marketplace program and Creative Collective; do not describe this as City approval, a general street-performer license or a background-screening certification. Program identification belongs to the named participant or act and may not be lent or transferred.

Joining is voluntary. The participant directory identifies membership in this program; it is not a list of all lawful performers or a safety rating. Choosing not to join, or being absent from the program or website, is not evidence of misconduct.

Joining this voluntary program does not restrict your independent street performing outside an agreed Marketplace assignment or appearance, including outside its dates, hours or area. Independent performance remains subject to applicable City rules, lawful restrictions, and any required permission for private property or an authorized event area. You do not need Creative Collective’s program approval simply to perform independently.

Creative Collective’s approval covers participation in this program, use of its identification and promotion, and any specifically agreed space or appearance. It does not grant a general street-performing license or permission to occupy another person’s reservation. Leaving or being removed from the program ends program benefits and authorization to represent the program; it does not itself determine your right to perform independently.

The assigned-space pilot is planned for Saturdays and Sundays only: October 3–4, 10–11, 17–18 and 24–25, 2026. Your written confirmation will give your actual dates, performance hours, arrival and departure instructions. A setup or reservation window is not permission to begin performing at that time.

These are the eight assigned-space dates for this pilot. October 12, October 30–31 and November 1 are not included. Roaming membership does not assign performance dates, hours or routes and has no attendance or routine check-in requirement. Any separately booked performance is a separate arrangement; it is not required to join the roaming program.

We especially want to highlight Salem and North Shore talent. That editorial focus is not a promise of placement or a locals-only eligibility rule. We review each proposed act, setup, requested dates and fit for the available space or roaming activity.

Approved roaming participation has no program fee, with voluntary tips only and no reserved spot.

Every approved assigned Pedestrian Mall space is $25 per full day. The same daily space fee applies to costumed characters, balloon artists, face painters and similar approved on-site creative services.

Describe your proposed activity and equipment in your application. John confirms your activity, setup, dates and total before booking.

No payment is collected with the application. We first send your proposed numbered location, map, dates, hours, approved setup and total for your written acceptance. Reserved-space invoices are sent through QuickBooks after you accept the offer. Payment does not replace the other approval requirements. Audience size, tips and income are not guaranteed.

Yes. Review the numbered Pedestrian Mall map (PDF), give your first choice and an optional second choice, and explain whether a particular location is essential to your act. Include equipment, audience space and any queue.

A map number is a placement reference, not a reservation or a statement of availability. Creative Collective reviews the requested footprint, access, daily availability and existing commitments, then sends an offer identifying the exact numbered space, map, dates, hours, approved setup and total. You accept that assignment in writing before payment. You may accept or decline an offered alternative, even if you indicated flexibility. Do not set up until all booking requirements are complete and the assignment is confirmed in writing.

Roaming membership is voluntary program participation and promotion, not a reserved-space booking. There is no program fee, assigned route, required performance schedule, routine CC setup approval or attendance/check-in requirement. Join the Marketplace community, keep your public listing accurate and choose any promotional materials separately.

The full Code of Conduct still applies to rovers when participating in or representing the program. Its standards for respectful visitor interactions, consent, clear tips, accessible passage, safe conduct and reporting remain in place. The private reference-photo requirement also applies before membership is confirmed. Roaming participation is voluntary tips only; no reserved space or power is provided.

CC does not approve your independent dates, hours or routes. Follow applicable City rules and any necessary permissions. If you need a reserved fixed setup, apply separately for an assigned space; that booking has its own location, hours and terms. A Marketplace listing or usual act name does not, by itself, make every independent appearance or personal post an official program activity.

Roaming participation is voluntary tips only. A visitor may decline without paying. Do not demand, pressure or shame someone into a tip.

For an assigned space, a proposed photo or service charge must be specifically approved in your completed confirmation, and the price must be disclosed before the visitor agrees. Neither track automatically authorizes merchandise sales. Describe any proposed sale or paid service before making plans around it.

No power is provided to anyone in either track. Do not use City or business electricity under this agreement. Bringing a battery does not override applicable City sound rules.

Assigned-space applicants describe equipment, props, batteries and audience space so the setup can be reviewed for placement. Rovers do not need routine CC setup approval to join; they remain responsible for the shared Code of Conduct and applicable City rules, including sound and public access.

The code’s safety standards apply to both tracks. No fire, knives or weapons, including replicas, may be used in this pilot.

1. Agree to the full Code of Conduct. We will not move an application forward without that agreement.
2. We review your request. For assigned spaces, John reviews the act, requested dates, equipment and footprint. For rovers, John confirms program participation, code agreement, reference photos and any public listing details; there is no route, schedule or routine setup approval.
3. Review and accept your space offer. For an assigned space, we send the exact proposed map number, map, dates, hours, approved setup, $25/day fee and total. Accept the offer in writing before payment; you may decline an offered alternative. Rovers receive a confirmation of program membership; no space offer, attendance schedule or daily check-in is required.
4. Complete the participation requirements. Supply each performer’s and helper’s private reference photo and complete the applicable agreement. For an accepted reserved-space offer, complete payment or an agreed written payment arrangement.
5. Receive written confirmation. Rovers receive membership confirmation. Assigned-space participants receive the location, dates, hours and conditions of their accepted booking.

An application receipt, checked acknowledgment, requested date, invoice draft or map preference is not a confirmed booking.

Please check with John Andrews. Earlier participation or an older short conduct checkbox does not accept the revised September 29, 2026 Code of Conduct (HH-COC-2026-09-29-v1). We need your own agreement to the current full version before advancing your application, plus the required reference photos before confirmation. John can match the updated information to your existing application.

The full code is displayed in the space application and roaming registration. It covers respectful behavior, consent and boundaries, voluntary visitor participation, clear prices and tips, accessible passage, respect for other acts and businesses, sound, safe equipment, care of the space, reporting and a fair response to concerns.

No harassment, discriminatory abuse, unwanted touching, intimidation over payment or retaliation. Respect a visitor’s refusal immediately. Every performer and helper must understand and agree to the code. Please read the full wording; this FAQ is a guide to it.

The code applies during an agreed Marketplace assignment or appearance and when someone is expressly acting on behalf of the program. It also covers threats, stalking, targeted harassment, disclosure of private information to intimidate someone, and retaliation arising directly from program participation, program business, or a report or review under this code, including online.

A program connection must be identified and documented. The fact that two people are performers, know each other through the program, or belong to the same online group is not enough by itself.

Good-faith criticism of Creative Collective, John, program policies or another participant’s conduct; raising or supporting a concern; declining to participate; and ordinary disagreements are not code violations or grounds for retaliation. A report that cannot be substantiated is not, by itself, misconduct. These protections do not excuse threats, harassment or retaliation as described above.

Every performer and helper must provide a current, clear head-and-shoulders reference photo before participation is confirmed. Wear everyday clothes, outside costume, without a mask or performance makeup. A clear phone photo is fine. Label it with the person’s roster name and act name; no government ID is requested. A parent or guardian submits a minor’s photo and receives this same notice.

John Andrews is responsible for these records. Reference photos are received and currently kept in his Creative Collective email inbox at john@creativecollectivema.com. Send them when John requests them for confirmation. Do not upload them to the shared application form. Program access is limited to John and designated check-in staff who need them for identification. They are not for general volunteer or marketing access, and staff must not save them in personal photo libraries.

Reference photos are used only for staff identification and check-in. They are not used for the website, social promotion, public credentials, facial recognition or background screening. Separate publicity permission does not authorize use of these private reference photos.

Routine reference-photo copies will be deleted within 30 days after the participant’s final 2026 pilot participation, or within 30 days after a final decline or withdrawal when no further participation is planned. This covers John’s working email copies and trash, plus any program working copies held by designated staff. They will not automatically carry into a future season. This deadline does not promise immediate erasure from service-provider backups; those follow the provider’s retention controls.

Only a specific image needed for an identified incident, claim or legal obligation may be retained longer. John will record the reason, restrict access and review continued retention. Records may be disclosed when legally required. Email John with questions, to correct a roster match or to request deletion. If deletion before participation would prevent the required check-in process, John will explain that consequence and discuss the request before making a participation decision.

The application’s separate checkbox acknowledges the reference-photo requirement and privacy notice dated September 29, 2026. It does not record receipt of a photo. Contact John privately if you need submission help.

Tell us about any minor performers or helpers when you describe the act so the arrangements can be reviewed. Performers under 16 must have an identified supervising adult present while they perform. A parent or guardian submits a minor’s reference photo and completes any required guardian acceptance before confirmation.

No. Program approval, a conduct agreement and a reference photo are not certifications that a background or CORI check has been completed. The pilot has not introduced a universal background-check requirement. Participants must still meet the program’s conduct, approval and check-in requirements.

Approved assigned-space and roaming participants receive a Haunted Happenings Marketplace website profile and promotion during October on the Marketplace’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, @hauntedhappeningsmarket, using separately authorized public information and images.

Coverage may be an individual feature or part of a roundup. Timing and format follow the editorial schedule, with particular emphasis on Salem and North Shore talent. Participation does not promise a post every day, a particular audience reach or a level of earnings.

Marketplace Facebook · Marketplace Instagram

Publicity permission is a separate, optional choice. Declining it does not affect application review. We will work out any alternative public-profile arrangements with you before publication.

Identify the exact promotional images, public bio, links and required photo credits we may use. An upload for application review is not permission to publish it. Private out-of-costume reference photos are excluded from publicity. Contact John to change or withdraw permission for future use.

Contact John Andrews before changing an agreed Marketplace assignment, reserved space, setup or appearance. Program identification cannot be lent or transferred. Material changes to a booked setup, service, location or dates need written confirmation; let John know promptly if you cannot attend an agreed appearance.

Independent performances outside an agreed commitment do not require CC approval of dates or routes. Keep your program listing accurate, and do not imply CC has booked or endorsed an appearance beyond what was agreed.

For paid reserved spaces, participant cancellations, missed arrivals and voluntary early departures are nonrefundable. If a City-directed or Creative Collective weather closure makes confirmed time unusable, the paid space fee for that time is refunded under the completed agreement. A full-day closure receives a full daily refund; a partial closure is prorated. An agreed suitable replacement location for the same time counts as usable time.

Roaming participation has no program fee to refund. Follow the day-of instructions in your confirmation; operating conditions and closing times may change.

Contact John Andrews at john@creativecollectivema.com. If John is unavailable or the concern involves him, contact Jeremy Fiske at jfiske@salem.com. For urgent on-site concerns, use the duty contact in your confirmation. For an emergency, call 911.

You do not have to confront someone first. Retaliation for a good-faith report or participation in a review is prohibited.

CC will record the concern, identify the relevant code provision and separate allegations from findings. Before a final adverse decision, the participant will normally receive enough detail to understand and respond to the concern, with private information limited to what is necessary. CC will consider relevant information and explain the decision and reasons in writing. Responses may include a conversation, corrective direction, warning, temporary pause or termination of program participation.

An immediate safety concern may require a temporary participation pause. A pause is not a final finding. The notice will explain its basis, the next review step and when the participant will receive an update. A participation pause or termination may also pause the listing, promotion and use of program identification; any refund or credit follows the completed participant terms.

Anyone whose own conduct is at issue or who has a material conflict will not decide that complaint or its reconsideration. Participants may request reconsideration through the reporting contact, using the alternate when the concern involves John or John made the original decision. Jeremy Fiske has agreed to review disputed decisions when he was not involved in the original decision and has no material conflict. If Jeremy was involved or has a conflict, CC will arrange another uninvolved reviewer. CC will confirm the reviewer and timing in writing.

This is the Marketplace program’s review process, not a City hearing or City appeal. Decisions concern program participation, assignments and benefits; they do not issue City penalties or determine general permission to perform. Reports are shared only as needed for review, safety or legal obligations; absolute confidentiality cannot be promised.

Email john@creativecollectivema.com with a short description of your act, requested dates and whether you carry everything or need a fixed setup. Include equipment and audience or queue needs. John can help identify the appropriate application and what needs review.