A mother danced with her toddler-age daughter bouncing on her hip, and it did not take long before the little girl's brother was also on his feet, laughing and hopping up and down in time to the New Orleans-style piece played by the New Legacy Jazz Band.
The Palmer Square green was covered with people of all ages, out to enjoy the weather, delicious food and music of JazzFeast 2002.
If the many children in attendance were not dancing or tumbling on the grass, they were munching on the caramel apples sold by the Camber's Cafe food booth or sitting with their families on picnic blankets.
Most of them held red balloons, which combined with the green grass and trees to create a mosaic of color.
There were not enough lawn chairs to go around. Some were provided in front of a billowing tent that covered the stage. Many people brought their own, and those who did not stood or reclined on the grass. Wherever they were sitting, the crowd tapped their feet or nodded their heads with the music.
"You can't beat this, " said Doug Starr, as he stood by a bench at the edge of the square. Starr has lived in Princeton for eight years, but this was his first JazzFeast.
"I've never heard of it even!" he said. "The use of Palmer Square is great — it's beautiful."
JazzFeast has been a community tradition since 1952. This year featured the New Legacy Jazz Band, Joanne Brackeen, the Bucky Pizzarelli Trio, the Earl May Quintet and Randy Reinhart.
More than 20 local restaurants set up booths in the street surrounding Palmer Square. The tantalizing aromas of funnel cake, Indian food, grilled chicken and sausage permeated the air.
A server at a booth from Les Copaines restaurant said she usually sells a lot at JazzFeast.
"Last year we did the crab cakes, and this year we're doing this," she said, pointing to a platter of little chocolate cakes and a pan filled with sandwiches. "It's doing very well."
Even though JazzFeast was crowded, the atmosphere was relaxed. Extended families strolled or lounged together, groups of senior citizens alternated between people-watching and listening to music and friends chatted.
The parents of toddlers seemed content to let their children explore, supervising them carefully but only bothering to pilot them if they strayed too close to one of the food booths' grills.
A woman sitting with her daughter in her lap said JazzFeast was one of her favorite community events.
She and her daughter took turns sipping from a bottle of soda. The leaves in the trees produced flickers of light on the grass as the wind blew them. The next group of musicians began to play their first few notes. The two were in no hurry to leave.
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