In this Italian neighborhood in Boston’s North End, a one-year-old baby was having a birthday. According to some fellow onlookers, that was the purpose of the performance. I’m not sure. Paper mache figures on poles were held high in the middle of the street while the band stood still and played "America the Beautiful" and other favorites of patriots. The baby’s father stood in the doorway of his own business on the corner opposite the church, holding his little girl high on his shoulders while band members waved to her between selections. They played "Happy Birthday," and Dad called out over the crowd his "Thanks."

The paper figures were carried along, then, on up the street while the band dispersed. Mostly older men, perhaps they represented a local organization. All I know for certain is that they delighted a large group of tourists and local folks, too, on a Sunday afternoon, serenading us with their music and demonstrating for us their neighborhood spirit. At this point, I reflected that I had heard almost every kind of music possible in Boston--and more important, I had enjoyed a type of music I had never relished before, that of a marching band. There is more to see in the North End of Boston than Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church, more than art galleries and Italian delis and pastry shops: there's much local color and spirit. Look for it in the North End.