Fifth Avenue Becomes an Easter Runway
At a Glance
- What
Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival
- When
- April 20, 2025
- Where
Fifth Avenue, between 49th and 57th Streets
- Admission
Free; no advance registration.
- Coverage
- Explore coverage
- Details
- What to Know
TheNakedNYC coverage
TheNakedNYC followed the crowd, costumes, and handmade bonnets along Fifth Avenue.
Participants turned the avenue into a moving gallery of spring fashion and invention.
Photo Gallery
Handmade hats turned individual participants into the festival's main attraction. TheNakedNYC
What to Know
An Informal Promenade
There are no floats, assigned marching order, or official cast. Participants arrive, circulate, pose, and stop to look at one another, giving the gathering its shape throughout the day.
From Spring Clothes to Sculptural Hats
The tradition grew from late-19th-century New Yorkers displaying new spring clothes after Easter services. As the promenade became less formal, hats became more theatrical.
Around St. Patrick's Cathedral
The blocks near St. Patrick's draw elaborate bonnets and photographers. The setting connects the event's religious-calendar origins with its present role as public street theater.
Craftsmanship and Visual Jokes
Floral towers share space with miniature cityscapes, food-shaped hats, feathers, stuffed animals, and Broadway references. Some creations depend on elaborate construction; others work through a quick visual pun.
An Open Invitation to Participate
Veteran makers, first-time participants, families, visitors, and costumed pets share the avenue. The absence of sign-up requirements keeps the event open to people who arrive simply to watch and those who bring a creation of their own.
