Swampscott Police Association Holiday Parade Canceled For 2020

SWAMPSCOTT, MA —A holiday tradition in Swampscott is the latest 2020 event to get canceled due to coronavirus concerns and restrictions.

The Swampscott Police Association's holiday parade is off this year, while the department will also not be able to collect items for the Toys for Local Children campaign.

"This decision did not come easy," Swampscott police said of the parade cancellation. "But the safety and well-being of our residents is the utmost importance. A parade could mean gatherings may occur. In an effort to minimize this and the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season, we made the hard decision to cancel.

"We look forward to the possibility of having the parade again next year."

While the department will not be a collection site for the TLC campaign, residents can still contribute through sponsoring a child or family. This year, due to the coronavirus, sponsors will be asked to commit to the size of family they will sponsor and then provide three unwrapped gifts with a larger gift (between $30 and $40) and two smaller gifts for each child.

Those willing to sponsor are asked to contact Jaclyn Wilson at jwilson@swampscott.k12.ma.us,

Julie Faulkner at jfaulkner@swampscott.k12.ma.us or Ashley Mast at mast@swampscott.k12.ma.us.

A few days after Dec. 1, a Swampscott TLC Amazon wish list will be posted for families who would like to support TLC by purchasing requested gifts (shipped to the middle school) to donate to TLC. There are no drop off boxes this year because of the coronavirus.