Return of the Swans

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Boston Parks Commissioner Chris Cook welcome Boston’s most popular waterfowl back during the 29 th Annual Return of the Swans event on Tuesday, May 2. The celebration in the Public Garden begins with entertainment at 12 noon.

After wintering at the Franklin Park Zoo, Romeo and Juliet will reside during the summer months in the Public Garden. The swans will be returned to the lagoon at 12:30 p.m. following a parade that begins at the Beacon and Charles Street corner of the park near the Make Way for Ducklings statue. Carts beautifully decorated by Boston’s Winston Flowers will help usher the swans to the release site.

Led by a brass band, the parade will continue to the George Washington Statue at the Commonwealth Avenue/Arlington Street entrance, over the pedestrian bridge, and end on the Boylston Street side of the lagoon for the official Return of the Swans ceremony.

The accompanying entertainment program, sponsored in part by the Friends of the Public Garden, begins at 12 noon. The celebration will include a brass band, face painters, a reading of Jennifer Delaney’s “Swan Boat Season in Boston” led by the Boston Park Rangers, and children’s activities presented by the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. In-kind sponsors HP Hood LLC and the Four Seasons Hotel Boston will provide cookies and tasty treats.