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Rep. Jenny Armini and the Swampscott Historical Commission will host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8, as the town joins a statewide observance of America's 250th anniversary.
The reading takes place on the town lawn in front of the Elihu Thomson Administrative Building. Organizers ask the public to gather at 5:30 p.m., with the reading set to begin just before 6 p.m. The event is free and open to all, and is organized in connection with the MA250 "Sharing the Spirit of America" initiative.
As part of the program, Armini will present the commission with a replica of the E. Russell of Salem copy of the Declaration. The original Salem broadside, printed in 1776 by order of authority, was among the copies that carried the Declaration's words to communities across Massachusetts.
The gathering echoes a Revolutionary-era moment on the North Shore: on July 17, 1776, Gen. John Glover assembled his regiment and Beverly townspeople at the parade ground that became Independence Park to proclaim the Declaration publicly. "The Declaration of Independence belongs not only to history, but to every generation of Americans called to consider what liberty, equality and self-government require of us," the commission said, thanking Armini for a presentation that "connects Swampscott residents to the printed words that helped carry independence across Massachusetts."
The reading will be followed immediately by the Swampscott by the Sea Concert Series, featuring Pick 6.
