Outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, revelers flooded Fifth Avenue with colorful, eccentric costumes as they celebrated the city’s annual Bonnet Festival Sunday.

"This is just joy personified," said David Riederman.

The festival is held on Easter Sunday each year.

What You Need To Know

  • Fifth Avenue outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan was flooded with revealers wearing colorful, eccentric costumes as they celebrated the City’s annual Bonnet Festival Sunda

  • The festival is a New York City tradition dating back to the 1870s

  • It follows mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and coincides with the city's annual Easter Parade staring on Fifth Avenue outside of the church at 49th Street

"Happy Easter to whoever is going to see this," said Purely Patricia.

The festival also marks the return of all-things spring, including flowers.

"Just everything coming back to life," said Victoria Wolfe. "Flowers. We love flowers."

"I like poppy's, tulips," said Wolfe's daughter, Louise. "I really like pink flowers.

"I like Roses, it's my birth flower," said Alice Stingel.

The festival is a New York City tradition dating back to the 1870s. It follows mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan and coincides with the city's annual Easter Parade starting on Fifth Avenue outside of the church at 49th Street.

Spectators saw bonnet-inspired costumes of all types -- from the more traditional to costumes with an Easter-spring time twist.

"Blossoming garden, I'm a walking garden at this point," said Tinu Naija when asked about the inspiration behind her costume.

"I'm from London originally," said Naija's friend PJ Cobbs. "We love pearls. Our pearly kings and queens."

Some costumes are less about the season and more about the creative eye of the designer. One group of friends wore consumes inspired by the movie “Beetle Juice.” Another crew took their cue from the Queen of Pop, with each costume representing a different song by the singer, including “Like a Prayer,” “La Isla Bonita,” and “Like a Virgin.”

Some attendees, like Wolfe, were first timers.

"It's so much fun to make the bonnets and get all dressed up."

Others, like Jodie Trapani, have been coming for decades.

"I've been doing it for 35 years," she said. "It's so fun and the energy is so great and it's New York. This is the only place in the world that goes this."

Many revelers cross state lines or even oceans just to flex their creative muscle at the festival.

"There's nothing like this in D.C., so you've got to come here and do this," said Hans Edwards. “The weather has been great. It's just fun. People from all around the world. All the people from Germany, England."