Photography: Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival 3/31/24

Photography: Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival 3/31/24

Famously immortalized by Irving Berlin, with some help from Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, the Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival is a tradition that stretches back to the 1870s: Each year on Easter Sunday, celebrants don festive finery and show off their very best and most creative bonnets.

Starting around 10:00am on Easter Sunday, the parade marches north on Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street. But arguably the best place to watch and take photos is around St. Patrick’s Cathedral, roughly from about 50th Street to about 53rd Street.

While clearly not as delightfully crass as the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, the Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival sees New Yorkers displaying their creativity, their panache and their wild fashion sense — often simultaneously.

I had never photographed the event before — until this past Easter. And admittedly, it was a lot of fun. I will do this again. Photos are below.