How to Watch the NYC Easter Parade
The New York City Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival is the paragon of Easter Sunday activities! Many of those participating spend months, maybe even a full year, designing and creating their Easter bonnets. Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival.
If you are attending the NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival, put a photo of yourself and reveal your brilliant bonnet on a Times Square Billboard. The Welcome to Times Square billboard is about a 5-minute walk away from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. You’ve put in the work and look fabulous…Now, put your photo on a Times Square billboard and shine like the star you are!
A Brief History of the NYC Easter Parade
This tradition started in the 1870s. NYC’s Gilded Age elite would attend Easter mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then stroll down Fifth Avenue in their best attire, to be seen by everyone else, doing exactly the same thing.
This was, of course, before the days of fast fashion, and the United States had yet to make a name for itself in the fashion world. Fashionable clothing of the day came solely from Europe. Only the wealthy could afford to journey to Europe and bring home the latest in the finest fashions.
Easter Sunday was a chance for those who could not otherwise afford to travel to Europe to see the latest styles from across the pond on display. In fact, many immigrants from NYC’s Lower East Side worked as tailors. They made a point of attended this particular Sunday morning Fifth Avenue stroll so the could see what styles were in vogue and recreate them in their workshops. It was sort of like an 1870’s version of New York Fashion Week.
People loved the NYC Easter Parade so much, it became an annual tradition, each year bigger and better than the last.
When Is The 2025 NYC Easter Parade
The NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival happens each Easter Sunday after Easter Mass. This is usually around 10 a.m. Festivities tend to wrap up around 4 p.m. So the NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival starts at 10 a.m. and The NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival ends at 4 p.m.
Where Is The 2025 NYC Easter Parade
The NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival takes place on Fifth Avenue in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The NYC Easter Parade runs up from St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 49th Street all the way up to 57th Street.
Who Can Participate In The 2025 NYC Easter Parade
The NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival is open to anyone and everyone with a bonnet. Many participants even bring their pets all decked out in bonnets. Since the tradition of the NYC Easter Parade dates back to the 1870s, many might even come to stroll about in period costumes!
If you’d rather, you can simply watch from either side of Fifth Avenue, or even walk amongst the crowd and chat with the participants on Fifth Avenue. In 2025, the NYC Easter Parade is a truly welcoming event for any and all who wish to join.
What To Do After The 2025 NYC Easter Parade
The NYC Easter Parade is close to Rockefeller Center. Five Acres is an upscale restaurant in Rockefeller Center that offers beautiful brunch options. On a busy day such as Easter Sunday, reservations would be recommended.
After Brunch, visit Top of the Rock and get sweeping expansive views of NYC. The Top of the Rock add-ons such as The Beam and the Skylift are definitely worth it.
Afterward, head on over to Times Square and view your photo on an awesome Times Square billboard. How much does it cost to have your photo on a giant Times Square billboard? As little as $150 a day. Show off your Easter bonnet with Welcome to Times Square.