2021 NYC Easter Parade, Bonnet Festival Go Virtual: What To Know

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Another pandemic month, another time-honored parade gone virtual: this time, the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival, which would normally proceed up Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday.

Instead, this year's parade, like the St. Patrick's Day and Macy's Thanksgiving Day events before it, will be a mostly online affair, with no well-dressed paradegoers walking past St. Patrick's Cathedral in their brightly colored holiday garb on April 4.

For the second straight year, the Fifth Avenue Association is asking New Yorkers to post photos of themselves in their Easter best on Instagram.

Each contestant will be entered to win an Easter Craquant Gift Box from La Maison du Chocolat, and winners will be selected from five categories: matching masks and hats, Eco-Chic, The Fashionista, Glam Pet, and the grand prize: The Easter Best.

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That winner will receive a one-night stay in a deluxe room at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue, complete with a continental breakfast for two.

Dating to the 1870s, the march through Midtown has long been one of the city's most unique and festive occasions, with participants donning elaborate hats as they processed along eight blocks between East 49th and 57th streets.

To enter the virtual contest, submissions on Instagram can be tagged with #EasterOnFifth. Guest judges will include executives from FAO Schwarz, Marie Claire and WindowsWear.

Submissions must be posted by 5 p.m. on Easter Sunday, April 4. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m.

Read more about the Virtual Easter Parade 2021 on the Fifth Avenue Association website.