On Easter Sunday, 5th Avenue is closed to traffic for parade participants and people watchers from roughly 10am until 4pm. People and their pets wearing the most original bonnets will parade and will be more than happy to take a picture with you.
I thought that this parade was absolutely stunning to be a part of. I loved how festive the people at the parade were and how into it they got. I would recommend this to anyone who is in the city around Eastertime because the parade is just beautiful to watch. It truly exhibits just how great the New York experience really can be.
We did not know about the 5th Avenue Easter Event when we stumbled upon it. It looked weird, all these people wearing festive and elaborate hats, and their pets were wearing hats too!! A fellow attendee told us in two words what it was about and it all made sense. We all had so much fun admiring all these wonderful hats. It is not a parade per se as Hatters are just strolling around so you really have time to look at their masterpieces and talk to them. You can see on one of the photos that a man let my youngest daughter borrow an Eiffel Tower hat for the photo. My children never complained that there was no candy or chocolate involved and have fond memories of that Easter.