With jazz and storytellers, swans return to the Public Garden

(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Globe Staff

The sun shimmered this morning on the lagoon at the Public Garden, where storytellers, face painters, politicians, and a four-piece jazz band heralded the return today of the city’s storied swans, Romeo and Juliet.

The ceremony began at the Make Way for Ducklings statue near Beacon and Charles streets, where park rangers read from the 1941 classic children’s book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey that inspired the sculpture.

A lilting tune from a saxophone and trumpet led a winding parade through the Public Garden, past the George Washington statue, over the pedestrian bridge, and to the lagoon. The swans rode in white carriages festooned with flowers.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and others spoke, and then the swans were released into the lagoon after spending a long winter at the Franklin Park Zoo.

"It's really a sweet, sweet thing," said Mary Hines, a spokeswoman for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

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