2022 Steuben Parade, Oktoberfest Return To The UES: What To Know

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Break out your lederhosen and beer steins: the German-American Steuben Parade will march up Fifth Avenue on Saturday, the latest iteration of a 65-year-old Yorkville tradition.

Festivities begin with a 9 a.m. mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, with the annual parade itself kicking off at noon on Fifth Avenue and East 68th Street, according to an event page.

More than a dozen “colorfully decorated” floats will ride up Fifth Avenue to East 86th Street, ranging from schools to visiting German groups, organizers say.

Back this year for the first time since the pandemic is the Central Park Oktoberfest, with doors opening around 1:15 p.m. at the Ramsey Playfield. Tickets are available online, with general admission priced at $50.

The parade’s terminus is no accident: East 86th Street was once known as the "German Boulevard" for its proliferation of German shops and biergartens.

While the listed deadline has passed for purchasing a grandstand ticket, Upper East Siders can also catch a glimpse from other vantages— the Metropolitan Museum steps are a popular option — as the crowd marches uptown. (It will also be streamed live on the parade's website.)

The parade coincides with Van Steuben Day, a holiday honoring the Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who came to the U.S. during the Revolutionary War to work for General George Washington. The parade was founded in 1957 in Ridgewood, Queens, and moved the following year to Yorkville, which was then a German-American stronghold.

After virtual in 2020, the parade made a grand return last year.

Learn more at the German-American Steuben Parade Website.