Things to Do in Danvers

At North Shore Yoga, each class is taught by certified instructors who not only have hundreds of hours of teacher training experience, but also specialize in particular styles to provide their students with the most beneficial instruction possible. North Shore Yoga's instructors each have a personal teaching style that presents yoga, health, and wellness in an approachable and practical manner. A certified prenatal teacher helps other moms and mothers-to-be embrace their growing bellies with soothing stretch sessions designed just for them. Other classes offered at North Shore Yoga include Rusty Hinges yoga, Vinyasa flow, core-bolstering Pilates mat, and strengthening yoga for athletes or nonathletes.

Paramotor Tours sends adventurers skyward on the wings of motor-powered paragliders. Nationally certified pilots adhere strictly to FAA safety regulations as they strap in for tandem flights, lifting thrill seekers to heights of up to 8,000 feet. To help ensure smooth takeoffs and landings, each glider boasts several safety features, including reserve parachutes, GPS navigation, and a pause button. Adventurers who wish to pilot their own glider can sign up for a solo-flying course, available on select days.

After the surgeries and treatments that helped her overcome breast cancer, Kathy Jannino-Faino lost some of the range of motion she had cultivated as a part-time fitness instructor. Rehabilitating on the Reformer—Pilates’s signature resistance apparatus—she discovered a workout that she loved enough to turn into a full-time career. She now helms her own intimate fitness studio, Passport Pilates, where she and her team teach Reformer and mat classes that strengthen core muscles and tone physiques.

Beyond Pilates, the studio’s staff members also teach interval-format Fit Barre classes that fuse Pilates with yoga and sports conditioning to firm specific problem areas, such as abs and thighs. For a class that incorporates more intensive cardio, students can participate in fast-paced Booty Camp workouts that jet from Reformer work to barre exercise to TRX suspension training inspired by Hitchcock films.

When the Ice Age ended more than 15,000 years ago, melting glaciers created the saltwater estuary that today sustains the Essex River’s myriad boaters, clammers, and fisherman. Amid this naturally beautiful backdrop, Essex River Cruises and Charters floats its two handsome spectator vessels, the Essex River Queen I and the Essex River Queen II. Guides lead daily, narrated cruises through the estuary, navigating the protected waters and pointing out the various local flora and fauna of the salt marsh.

Cruises embark daily from May to October and also include weekend cruises accompanied by coffee and muffins, during which passengers are serenaded by the plaintive cries of pelicans begging for the love of a good man. The fleet is also available for group tours and charters for up to 100 passengers at a time, and the staff caters signature clambakes and other events along the tidal beach. The cruise-curators even make big days memorable, transporting wedding parties to any of the many secluded tidal beaches in Essex Bay for ceremonies or receptions.

The sniper crouches behind a tree bathed in the glow of a black light, catching his breath as the music filling the air pounds in time with his racing heart. He pokes his head around the trunk just as his adversary rounds the corner and fires bright green beams in his direction. The gunslinger sprints away, trying to protect his shining blue vest from taking a game-ending hit. High-adrenaline scenes such as this occur on the laser-tag arena throughout the day and into the night at Boomers Family Fun Center.

Founded with the goal of fostering a safe environment for children and teens, Boomers Family Fun Center upholds their mission within a meticulously maintained, 10,000-square-foot gaming facility. The laser-tag arena beckons players into its black-lit confines designed to resemble a jungle replete with luminescent plants, glowing insects, and confused Tarzans wrapped in Christmas lights. Armed with their high-tech phasers and computerized vests, gamers of all ages take to the playing field, lobbing light beams back and forth as trained staffers referee the action. Along with its signature laser-tag sessions, Boomers grants respite to weary players with arcade games and an onsite concession stand stocked with pizza and soda. The friendly staff also presides over parties that include access to a private room and exclusive rounds of laser tag.

The artwork resulting from Look What I Made's workshops and open-studio sessions tends to have a practical edge. Bright clay cubes open to hold jewelry, and kids' art projects converge with the goal of teaching little hands to plant gardens. The shop even helps artists set up their own satellite studios by offering at-home pottery projects, which they can paint while stealing a moment of downtime or staring at the faces of sleeping family members and then let Look What I Made do the glazing and firing. In-studio outbursts of creativity take place within a serene, orderly space, where big windows, wooden tables, and well-organized shelves of pottery line periwinkle walls.