Summer Shabbat

The city is peaceful in the evening breeze. The smell of burning cigarillos pervades the air. Cars flash down the side streets west of Bathurst. They flutter the flags of Italy, Portugal and Croatia, and honk intermittently. Crowds amass on College Street, which has been closed to traffic for a street festival. Pedestrians watch jazz fusion bands, play midway games, and sample the concession food for sale. A group of traditional Italian singers greets the audience: Buona sera per tutti! In a park near Little Italy, religious Jewish children play tag, and fight over turns on the slide. They are transfixed by a lone red balloon that floats across the sky.