Gloucester Fishtown Horribles Parade

11/02/2026

Interested in donating a tree for the 5th Annual Parade of Trees but not sure how it works? We will be answering some of our frequently asked questions over the next couple of days!

Question #1: What kind of trees are allowed?

Answer: DUE TO SAFETY REGULATIONS WE ARE ONLY ALLOWING ARTIFICIAL TREES(UP TO 8FT TALL AND ARTIFICIAL OR LIVE WREATHS AND BOXWOOD TREES.

HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE FEELING INSPIRED TO CREATE A TREE LIKE STRUCTURE, WHETHER THAT BE A LADDER, A TOWER OF ITEMS STACKED IN A TREE SHAPE, OR WHATEVER YOU CAN COME UP WITH, THE SKY'S THE LIMIT!

We love when people come up with something creative! One of the most popular trees over the years was a giant lighted lobster sculpture!

10/30/2026

🎄✨ THE PARADE OF TREES IS BACK FOR YEAR FIVE! ✨🎄

We are so excited to announce that our FIFTH annual Parade of Trees will be returning this holiday season! ❤️🎄

This year, the Parade of Trees will hold an extra-special place in our hearts as we dedicate the event to Heather Goolsby, a longtime volunteer who meant so much to our organization and community. ❤️

Heather had a love for all things Christmas, and she is the reason the Parade of Trees began in the first place! After spending many years supporting the Essex Tree Jubilee and the Shriners Feztival of Trees, her passion for the magic of the holiday season inspired us to create something of our own.

Five years later, that tradition continues, and it feels only right to honor the person whose love for Christmas helped bring it to life. 🎄✨

This year’s Parade of Trees will be about more than beautiful trees and holiday cheer. It will be about remembering Heather, celebrating her generous spirit, and carrying forward the joy she brought to so many people.

Heather, we hope this year’s event would make you proud. Your love for Christmas continues to shine through a tradition you helped inspire, and we can’t wait to celebrate in your honor. ❤️🎄

Stay tuned for more details about this year’s Parade of Trees! We can’t wait to celebrate five wonderful years with all of you. ✨

2026 Registration Form -
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3b6iNYjAU5DzsazH4qGftwWrgu7tytT4gVdp__UyvmekCqg/viewform?usp=header

07/09/2026

07/04/2026

Update: Lexi Thomas found our winners!!! Pictures below

🥁 DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!! 🥁

We were hoping to announce our winners last night following the grand finale of the Gloucester fireworks, but the blackout had other plans!

Our volunteer photographer is sorting through hundreds of amazing photos, so winner photos will be posted later this evening. Until then, we're excited to officially announce this year's winners:

🏆 Best Performance: Annisquam Village Players

🏆 Best Horribles: Gloucester Riders

🏆 Best Overall Theme: Biomimicry New England with their 400 Trees Gloucester & Dirt Club float

Congratulations to all of our winners! 🎉

The parade committee will be in touch with each of our winners soon to arrange prize distribution.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this year's Gloucester Fishtown Horribles Parade such an incredible celebration of community. We can't wait to share all of the fantastic photos with you later!

07/04/2026

Yesterday was a scorcher, but that didn't stop Gloucester from coming together to celebrate 250 years of the United States of America! 🇺🇸❤️

What makes the Gloucester Fishtown Horribles Parade so special isn't just what happens along the route, it's the incredible community that comes together behind the scenes to make it all happen.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to...

💙 Our amazing volunteers who gave their time throughout the day; from decorating vehicles and helping participants to collecting donations and making sure everything ran smoothly.

💙 The Mass Mudders for helping set up the saw horses and keeping the parade moving safely.

💙 Amateur Radio for helping us keep the parade gaps as small as possible. (Unfortunately, we can't control the train... as much as we'd all love to! 🚂)

💙 Shaw's Supermarket and Stop & Shop for generously donating cases of water to help keep everyone hydrated.

💙 Minglewood Harborside, The Lobster , and Cape Ann Lobstermen for donating hundreds of pounds of ice to keep those waters cold all day long.

💙 Our incredible community members, along with Captain Joe and Sons, for coming through at the last minute with coolers and fish totes so we could distribute cold water to parade participants.

💙 The Shed for donating the porta-potties.

💙 Our Gloucester Police Department (Official) for safely shutting down the parade route and keeping everyone safe throughout the celebration.

💙 And perhaps one of the biggest unsung heroes of the day, our City of Gloucester Public Works. After proudly serving as this year's Grand Marshal, they immediately went to work cleaning the city so Gloucester looked its best after the festivities.

To every parade participant who marched, danced, drove, played music, entertained the crowds, and braved the extreme heat, you made this celebration unforgettable.

To everyone who lined the streets to cheer us on, THANK YOU! And to those who couldn't make it in person but tuned in to the livestream with Kory Curcuru and Pauline Bresnahan on 1623 Studios, thank you for celebrating with us from home.

And last but certainly not least thank you to the Voice of the Parade, Rick Doucette. Rick brought the same incredible energy and enthusiasm he brings every single year, despite the heat wave, keeping the crowds engaged from start to finish.

❤️ Rick set a goal of raising $12,000 along the parade route this year. While we didn't quite get there, thanks to your generosity we raised $8,023!

We're asking our community one more time to rally behind Rick and help us close the gap. His goal represents only about one-quarter of what it costs to put on this community-funded parade, and every dollar stays right here to help keep this beloved Gloucester tradition alive and growing.

If yesterday reminded you why this parade means so much to our community, please consider making a donation. Every contribution big or small makes a difference.

From all of us on the Gloucester Fishtown Horribles Parade Committee, thank you for making this year's parade another unforgettable celebration of community.

We'll see you next year! ❤️🤍💙

Donations can be made via our square link
https://fishtown-horribles-committee-inc.square.site/?utm_id=97759_v0_s00_e0_tv3&fbclid=IwY2xjawS2O-dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJod2lJenZnMmpCVFpHNEtoc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeaj9MqUU7zm_ktpERPQ9Rr2DuFmw36WdvGCXpa5ckAXZKbECkMLvTGiz4TSk_aem_ZVzJZJUWX03dNLkfTeqWag

Or to our P.O. Box
Gloucester Fishtown Horribles Parade
P.O. Box 924
Gloucester, MA, 01930

07/03/2026

🎉 We're excited to share that we've brought some new vendors into this year's lineup along the Boulevard!

You may recognize these guys from last week down at Fiesta!
- Crispelli USA will be offering rice balls
- Pablo's Food Truck offering mexican cuisine

We will also be bringing some sweet treat friends including
- Holy Cow Ice Cream
- White Farms on the Causeway
- Berry Sweet chocolate covered fruits

Returning favorites will be
- Meats & Sweets
-The Lobster Roller
- Abbie D's
- Geno's Concessions and Richies Slush

Share a picture of your favorite eats from the boulevard to let our committee know who you want to see again next year!

07/03/2026

Our second round of water has been dropped off thanks to the guys over at Cape Ann Lobstermen/ The Lobster huge shout out to them for picking up all of our coolers and fish totes that have been donated by community members!!

These will be loaded up with waters and put on trucks throughout the parade and thru our staging area to keep our participants hydrated!