Reason Number 6 Why I Love New York City!

Do you love a parade?  I sure do and New York City has many more than it’s share. 

When I first thought about this I Google searched for “Which American City has the most Parades?” and Chicago came up as number one with 11. 

Well no wonder we call Chicago The 2^nd City!  New York is clearly Number 1 with 28!

January/February

Three Kings Day Parade (Día de Reyes)                                                                             Chinese Lunar New Year Parade

March

Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Easter Day Parade and Easter Bonnet Greek Independence Day Parade

April

Tartan Day Parade Persian Parade Immigrant Heritage Week                                                                              Sikh Day Parade

May

Cinco de Mayo Parade   Ecuadorian Independence Day Parade, also known as Ecuadorean Flower Parade

June

The New York Gay Pride Parade                                                                            Philippine Independence Day Parade   The Puerto Rican Day Parade

AUGUST

Dominican Day Parade                                                                                 FIA India Day Parade   Pakistan Independence Parade

September

The Brazilian Day Parade and Festival                                                                            The German-American Steuben Parade

October

The Korean Day Parade The Columbus Day Parade Pulaski Day Parade Nigerian Independence Day Parade Hispanic Heritage Day Parade African Day Parade                                                                         The Village Halloween Parade

November

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade The NYC Veteran’s Day Parade

But wait!  These are just the parades that are staged in Manhattan.  There are dozens more in and around the five boroughs all through the year for and about every ethnic group of people you can think of!  So you can watch or participate in a parade just about every weekend of the year!  You can check them out here:

http://movingsidewalkblog.com/?page_id=144

And Just to let you know ... I didn't forget Memorial Day.  In honor of all our fallen heros - There is no large parade in Manhattan. In fact, the largest Memorial Day Parade is held in Little Neck-Douglaston in Queens. There is a small one uptown in Inwood but it's about the same size as the one I Marched in last year in Whitestone. There is another large one, perhaps the oldest in the city (148 years!) in Brooklyn on Third Avenue.
As for big parades in Manhattan, Veteran's Day on November 11th has pretty much replaced Memorial Day as the day to honor our Service Men and Women.  .
The Veteran's Day Parade is huge and has gotten bigger every year since the first in 1929.
Over 25,000 Men and Women from every service and every era participate and it is the largest in the country.
The Commemoration begins with a wreath laying ceremony at 10AM at the Eternal Flame in Madison Square Park on 23rd and Fifth Avenue and the parade always begins (on the dot!) at 11:15. The route is always Fifth Avenue North from 26th Street to 52nd Street.
November 11th is also my daughter's birthday ... when she was very young I used to bring her to watch and tell her that is was for her!
 Enjoy  and don't forget to bring your trombone!