Easter bonnets come out to
celebrate at Tompkins Square Park
Paul Nagle enjoyed a smooth takeoff on the runway.
BY BOB KRASNER
This is defi nitely not your grandmother’s
Easter parade. Sometime
in the late 1800’s, churchgoers in
their fi nest Easter bonnets lingered on Fifth
Ave. outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, enjoying
a mutual display of sartorial elegance.
As the years went by it became it became
so popular that it was necessary to close
off a number of blocks to traffi c so that
the huge crowds had space to mingle. In
recent years, tens of thousands have fi lled
the blocks between 49th and 57th streets as
the bonnets – and everything else – got more
creative and more outrageous, rivaling Halloween
for spectacle. Unfortunately, due to
the pandemic, the parade was offi cially off –
which was the cue for Christopher Hardwick
and Abby Ehmann to kick into gear.
As they did for last summer’s “Renegade
Mermaid Parade”, the pair planned a substitute
event – the Easter Bonnet Promenade
– in Tompkins Square Park to fi ll the void.
Artistic friends showed up in all manner of
dress and while we think it’s unlikely that
many of them came directly from church,
it’s really not about that anyhow.
Carl Saytor, whose wife wore a very impressive
bonnet containing live grass, saw
it as a celebration of renewal. “The beginning
of spring is so much more important
this year as we crawl out of our caves,”
he mused. ” It’s a double rebirth – we are
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
Eeva Doherty paid tribute to a favorite treat - Peeps - but has no interest in
the new Peeps flavored Pepsi.
re-experiencing life and each other.”
Members of the Kostume Kult handed
out cupcakes and matzah ball soup, while
“Giorgio the Matzah Guy” dispersed unleavened
bread ( in other words, matzah
), acknowledging the overlap of Passover.
Sydney Oolango, whose fabulous headpiece
was an undulating infl atable tube, brought
the runway that everyone was welcome to
traverse.
Music was provided by DJ Flo Pilot atop
Glinda the Good Bus, with performances
by Michelle Joni and Lucy Hall. “Thank
god Glinda was available ! ” exclaims
Hardwick. “Without her it would have
been someone playing music through a
little bluetooth speaker.”
Hardwick was pleased with the afternoon,
also looking at it as a new beginning.
“Our goal,” he explained, ” was to create
happiness and joy while climbing slowly out
of the pandemic.”
Look for similar upcoming
events at m.facebook.com/groups/
12236147106?group_view_
Kate Peila brightening up the park.
4 April 8, 2021 Schneps Media
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