Family Festival The Start Of Something Good In Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Organizers of the first Swampscott Family Festival said they are already looking forward to a bigger event next year after hundreds of Lynn, Marblehead and Swampscott residents hit Fisherman's Beach for the day of family fun on Saturday.

"It was a wonderful town celebration before the school year starts," said Swampscott resident Caroline Allen, who helped drive this year's inaugural event. "Many families who are new to town enjoyed the opportunity to connect with one another, especially coming out of the pandemic.

"The biggest hits were face painting, the hula hoop contest, the craft table, and the Tasty Treat ice cream truck."

The event, which grew out of the socially distanced outdoor family "mix-and-mingles" held at Linscott Park during the COVID-19 pandemic, included food from the Swampscott Yacht Club, music from DJ Lanie Mac Music and "Face Painting by Rachel."

The Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, Save the Harbor-Save the Bay, Bobby Zee, Lisa Boemer from the Hucciup and Seaside Swampscott, Michelle Volz Steingiser, Joe's on a Roll, the ice cream truck and sponsors The Proper Nest and Weaver Orthodontics were also at the event.

"Several different families, and vendors, said that they loved Saturday's event because it was different from the other traditional events in town in that it focused on several different, and engaging, kids activities, it wasn't as loud, and there was a diverse group of families and vendors," organizer John Allen said.

Organizers said they intend to form a planning committee for next year's event that they hope will include more volunteers.

They said a survey will soon be conducted via Facebook to get feedback from families on this year's event and what they would like to see in the second annual Swampscott Family Festival late next summer.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)