Easter Parade

Come for the tourists, the hats, and the lack of any reasonable organization. This is really a chance for those who would like to come out to display their hat-​making skills (and costumes) to really shine; most people don’t mind taking photos. I’d say probably 1 in 50 people was actually dressed up for the parade more than just a hat they pulled out of the closet or a pair of bunny ears. Plenty of police, and below 57^th, most of the cross-​streets are blocked so no traffic to worry about. Of course, too many people, so too crowded to get a good look at most people.
The vendors are few and far-​in between, unlike most NY events, which is nice — balloon vendors, bunny ears to sell, and lots of street artists around, but nothing too pressing or smelly like normal street fairs, leaving people plenty of room to walk around. They cluster around costumes, though.
Challenging to bring a little one and a stroller here — you’d be better served going to people-​watch in Central Park, in my opinion, or Union Square.

Maybe I’m just easily amused because I’m a touron (portmanteau of «tourist» and «moron») from Indianapolis, but this is an awesome event.
You get to people watch — lots of people watching. The people are festive and the tradition of wearing incredibly large, colorful, and even kinetic hats is strong. The creativity and energy that went into the making of the hats is very impressive. There was even a large pile of hats made with paper, metrocards, etc. by some good samaritans, free for the taking. And, as a testimony to the people of the greatest city in the world, this pile of hats lasted for a long time — people only took what they wanted and even put some back.
This is the quintessential big city event where the best of the big city shined — the people, the creativity, the diversity, the energy, the goodwill. It’s an event NYC should be proud of.

I’m shocked and excited to be the first person to discuss New York’s Easter Parade. My daughter and I had the good fortune of being in NY two years ago on Easter.
This is what city living is about.
I was quite the huckster, sashaying down the street in a little crocheted cap as crowds of well and/​or eccentrically dressed folks walked past us. It wasn’t unusual to see people with accoutrements a foot high or more. Actually, you wouldn’t turn anyone’s head if you didn’t have one of the following:
— an impeccably tailored couture type outfit
— a large headpiece or floral centerpiece on your head
— animals dressed to match
–an exquisite date dressed to match
— a team of folks and/​or animals coordinating with you and telling some kind of story with your ensemble.
On that last note, I was quite impressed at the number of «ensembles» there were. There were several parties where one person was the centerpiece and the others around (usually) her were dressed to create a tableau.
And, of course, there were the incredible drag queens, eccentric humour outfits and purposeful «fashion don’ts» on the streets as well… very fun people watching.
One thing different from the Astaire/​Garland film: The street is actually closed and packed for blocks with people walking and chatting.
The best kind of free cultural event — if you’re in town, don’t miss it!