Columbus Day Parade 2016 interviews with Viola Manuela Ceccarini
October 8th: The annual Columbus Day Parade is the largest celebration of Italian-American culture in the world.
In fact, is also one of the biggest NYC events in October, for over 35,000 marchers and groups participate in the spectacle that takes over Fifth Avenue. If you’re not much of a walker, do some exploring of your own and check out New York attractions you’ve never seen, like the Columbus statue on top of the Columbus Circle monument. You can always celebrate with a plate of spaghetti at one of the best Italian restaurants in Little Italy.
The parade march up Fifth Avenue ending around 3 p.m. on the Upper East Side. I was there and it was so much fun interviewing Italian American leaders and artists!
The Columbus Day Parade is a fun filled parade that gets bigger and better every year. Participants from all over the world march with pride. The parade celebrates the spirit of exploration and courage that inspired Christopher Columbus’s 1492 expedition to America and and the important contributions of Italian-Americans and other immigrants that followed.
Over a dozen high school bands, as well as virtuosi professional groups from the United States and Italy, march up Fifth Avenue and fill the canyons of midtown with joyous, heart-pounding music. Traditional folk groups perform centuries-old dances, and cutting-edge designs are brought to the parade route in displays of the vibrant Italian-American and Italian culture today.
Photos by Fernando Bravo unless otherwise stated