Recreation Commission Plans for 'Swampscott's Got Talent'

The main topic of last week's Swampscott meeting was an event committee members loosely referred to as "Swampscott's Got Talent."

The event is in its early stages  but, as envisioned, would have residents of all ages performing on stage for the rest of the town. 

Committee member Glenn Kessler saw the event as a way to showcase lesser known talent in Swampscott.

"Imagine some 70-year-old guy from the senior center gets up there and plays some Chopin or Scott Joplin," Kessler said. "Or what if he plays piano and his grandson plays the violin."

Most commission members were optimistic about the event but not without some trepidation.

Jenn Nesbit worried that the event's competitive nature might discourage younger residents from participating.

Selectman expressed a desire to push forward with the event but recognized that the show might need some tweaking in its first year.

"Maybe it expands out into 'Marblehead Has Talent' and then we have a real competition," Van Dam mused.

Overall, though, Van Dam understood the event's goal would be to showcase Swampscott talent.

The group agreed to schedule the event for March 19, and have one more meeting before reaching out to schools and other community leaders.

Tuesday night's meeting also reviewed the Recreation Department's winter programs. 

A few of the town's programs, mainly basketball, have seen a drop in enrollment, down from the usual 225 to 175 participants.

"I think there's a whole group of people that went over to Nahant's program," Recreation Director Danielle Strauss said.

Also, the Commission is looking for new members. Specifically, they want a member to represent Precinct 2, the section of Swampscott  near the water tower, Stetson Avenue and Farragut Road.

They are also looking for a chair-at-large to set the meeting agenda.