NYC Easter Bonnet Parade: Start Time, Route, Weather Forecast

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY – Fifth Avenue is about to be taken over by one of the most fun and unique parades of the year – the Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival.

The annual march through Midtown brings a collection of the city’s best-dressed parade-goers together to celebrate the beginning of spring.

The Easter Bonnet Festival is a beacon of fun, fancy headwear and explosive colors, but its origin wasn't quite as easy-going. The first Easter Parade in the 1870s was meant only for the city’s elite, with well dressed men and woman donning their finest hats and sauntering down Fifth Avenue with their horses and buggies.

Today the event is a much more inclusive affair.

Here’s a quick guide on everything you need to know about the logistics around the Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival.

The Parade Route:

While most New York City parades spell doom for anyone trying to navigate around the city on the same day, the Easter Parade extends only for eight blocks between 49th street and 57th street on Fifth avenue.

The height of the parade occurs outside the steps of the well-known St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue and East 50th Street.

Start Time:

The 2019 Easter Parade starts at 10 a.m and concludes around 4 p.m, according to its event page on the NYC Official Guide.

Street Closures:

If you're planning on going between 49th and 57th Street on Fifth, look for other avenues of travel.

Directions:

The nearest subway stations are the 6 train stop at 51st Street and Fifth, and the E, M stations at 53rd Street and Fifth. Alternatively, if you’re taking the subway the Rockefeller Center station via the B, D, F or M line.

If you’re traveling from the suburbs into Penn Station or the Port Authority Bus Terminal, transfer to the E train and get off at the previously mentioned Fifth Avenue and East 53rd Street Station.

If you’re going into Grand Central Station, it makes the most sense to just walk to the parade. If walking just isn’t in the cards for you, grab the 6 train uptown to the 51st Street stop.

Weather Forecast:

Unfortunately it looks like April showers are expected for this Sunday. AccuWeather is predicting a high temperature of 65 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies and scattered rain throughout the day.