Welcome to 5 Things You Need to Know Today, your place for useful facts. We'll provide this early morning digest each weekday to keep Salemites and Salem Patch users in-the-know.

1. Wow, what a weekend in Salem. We heard lots of people saying it was more crowded than they ever imagined it would be at this point in the bewitching season. We spoke with several businessowners who said they had a great weekend. One said it was probably the best day for his business ever.
2. We took advantage of the super crowds this weekend and took a ton of photos. Be sure to tune in at 12:30 p.m. to see your shots — we have so many to share!
3. Salem has a new official cat and her name is Clio. To learn more about Clio and the other festive felines of the Witch City who gathered at Living With Pets, click here. 
4. Need to check out the traffic situation before you hit the road to go to work? We have you covered. Check out the live traffic report on the homepage now.
5. Have any interest in sponsoring Big Foot's Necessary Nine? You can bid for the opportunity to sponsor this friendly beast's efforts here.

To find out what else is happening today in Salem, check out our events calendar.