The Tamesis
Despite the gloomy skies over Midtown Manhattan – wrinkled gray-white clouds finally bringing April drizzle – the scene outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral was colorful this Easter Sunday, as participants gathered for the annual Easter Parade and Easter Hat Festival.
The milliners and milliners, young and old, human and canine, single and family, wind their way along Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street, their various headdresses containing familiar patterns (eggs, flowers, rabbit ears, wicker baskets, every pastel imaginable) and custom designs. One marcher wore a headdress made from a pile of plastic waste to raise awareness of the crisis of overconsumption, while another wore a headdress, collar and skirt decorated with discarded metro cards. (Look – they have to go somewhere!)
Happily, photographer Amir Hamja was there to capture all the dazzling goings-on. Check out his snaps from the 2026 New York Easter Parade and Easter Hat Festival here.
