“I am not going to let it rain on my parade,” said Jane Jubilee, a headdress designer, before confidently making her way in boots toward St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the annual NYC Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival.
Gray clouds failed to dampen spirits or the vivid colors that flooded Fifth Avenue, as a sea of spectators and participants gathered outside the cathedral in their most “egg-cellent” attire.
For creatives like Jubilee, who runs Crowns by Jane, the parade offers the perfect opportunity to showcase her work while celebrating the holiday.
“I am celebrating my King Protea blooms with my own creation,” said Jubilee, a New Jersey native. “Today I am especially happy because I am sandwiched between Jesus and the Easter Bunny. I am getting the best that Easter can be in New York City, the Fifth Avenue Easter Bonnet Parade. I’m in the best spot.”
Standing between a man dressed as Jesus and a woman holding a rabbit, Jubilee said it is this kind of eclectic crowd that makes the event feel magical.
Easter has taken on new meaning for Gwendolyn Fitz, who found her muse in a small white rabbit named Mister Bun in a Brooklyn park. Wearing a giant pink blossom headband, Fitz cradled her furry companion as she shared her music with passersby.
“[Mister Bun] has a song out called ‘Some Bunny Loves You,’ so we thought we’d come to the Easter Parade to share some love, rabbits, music, and all that jazz,” she said.
For families like Lina Ly’s, who traveled from Southern California, the Easter Bonnet Parade had long been a bucket-list experience after seeing it depicted in the classic Easter Parade starring Judy Garland.
“Since it was Easter, we decided to do the parade because we saw it in the old Judy Garland film, and our inspiration was spring, flowers, butterflies, and the movie,” said Ly, who wore a pink-and-purple floral headband adorned with butterflies. She stood alongside her daughters, Sophie Ly-Pang, 16, and Lana Ly-Pang, 13, all dressed in ruffled pastel ensembles.
Though often referred to as a parade, the event is more of a festive promenade, where participants stroll along Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., showcasing flamboyant designs ranging from eggshell creations to carrot-themed couture, and even a few delightfully dystopian twists.
