The next NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival is on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019.
The Parade is on Fifth Avenue, centered on St Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s not really a parade in the traditional sense. People just walk around. But it is fabulous to see how crazy your fellow New Yorkers can be. There are always some really good costumes and hats.
The NYC Easter Parade
Join the lighthearted fun of New York City’s Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival on Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday.
The tradition dates back to the 1870s. Some folks walk in period costume. Many create elaborate Easter bonnets. Some of them are way over the top, New York style.
Easter was originally a pagan Spring festival. The way we celebrate it today is influenced by the Jewish holiday of Passover and Roman Catholicism, an Italian religion.
Easter is the most important Christian holiday, so Americans used to dress up for it. Americans wore hats until President John F. Kennedy erased the tradition in the 1960s. Parading in your Easter finest was something everybody did. Fancy ladies competed with each other with the extravagance of their hats.
NYC Easter Parade Route
NYC’s Easter Parade marches up Fifth Avenue from 49th St to 57th St.
NYC Easter Parade Time
The Parade starts around 10 am and can continue until 4 pm, although it tends to wind down around midday.
Marching in the NYC Easter Parade
NYC’s Easter Parade is an informal affair. It’s nice if you wear a bonny hat, but anyone can walk in the parade.
Do take your camera!
Watching NYC’s Easter Parade
The best place to watch the Easter Parade is around St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st St.
The Easter Parade Movie
New York City’s Easter Parade was immortalized in Easter Parade, a 1948 musical romance starring Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and Peter Lawford. The movie features classic music by Irving Berlin.
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