Return of the Public Garden Swans Tuesday

A sure sign of the season will appear in Boston Tuesday as famed swans Romeo and Juliet will return to the Public Garden for another year.

The 25th Annual Return of the Swans celebration will start with entertainment at 11 a.m., followed by a parade at 11:30, from the Beacon and Charles Street corner of the park to the Boylston Street side of the lagoon at the Public Garden.

At 11:45, the ceremony will take place where Romeo and Juliet will be returned to their summer home in the lagoon.

“We are pleased to welcome Romeo and Juliet back,” Mayor Tom Menino said in a statement. “For a quarter of a century this event has heralded the approach of summer with the swans joining the Swan Boats as Public Garden icons known to visitors worldwide.”

According to the city, the swans wintered at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Led by a brass band, the parade will run from near the "Make Way For Ducklings" statue to the George Washington statue and over the pedestrian footbridge to the lagoon. According to the city, the swans will be ushered to the site by carts decorated by Boston's Winston Flowers.

The celebration will include live entertainment sponsored in part by the Boston Musician's Association, face paintings and readings of "Make Way For Ducklings" led by the Boston Park Rangers.