Each year, more than 1,500 luminary bags line the boulevard, creating a beautiful tribute to those we have lost. Canned goods are used to weigh down the bags and are then donated to The Open Doorto help feed our community. In 2025, our community donated an incredible 2,007 pounds of food in memory of loved ones.
How You Can Help
Attend this peaceful healing ritual.
Join us in remembrance and help show grieving community members that they are not alone. Your presence helps create a powerful message of love, compassion, and hope.
Bring canned goods to the event.
Donations of canned goods can be brought directly to the event on August 31 (or September 1 if the rain date is needed).
Donate before the event.
Amazon wish list or canned goods can be dropped off through Sunday, August 30at the following locations:
- Cape Ann Lanes
- Middlesex Recovery
- West Gloucester Trinitarian Church
- Cape Ann YMCA
Volunteer for setup or breakdown.
Volunteers are always needed. Setup begins after 3:00 p.m. at the Flagpole. Any amount of help is greatly appreciated incuding breakdown beginning around 8pm. It is a labor of love.
Help Preserve the Luminaries
Last year’s event was impacted by rain, and many of the luminary bags are fragile. Over the past year, volunteers have carefully repaired hundreds of bags. Attendees are encouraged to locate their bag from previous years and create a new one if it needs replacement.
Bags, markers and LED Lights are provided. Children are encouraged to draw chalk hearts and blow bubbles (provided).
If weather requires us to move to the rain date, an announcement will be posted by 3:00 p.m. on August 31 on the Gloucester Annual Overdose Vigil Facebook page.
As always, thank you to our community for coming together to make this meaningful night possible. Through remembrance, compassion, and collective support, we continue to honor those we have lost while bringing comfort and healing to those who carry their memory forward.
Together, let’s Light the Boulevard with Love.
Good Morning Gloucester 