Steuben Parade And Oktoberfest Returns To The Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Yorkville used to be known as Little Germany, but the German-American Steuben Day Parade still boasts a big boisterous bra crowd to celebrate the Saxony-Anhalt-born founding father.

Marchers will gather from all around the United States, Germany, Austria and Switzerland to celebrate over 300 years of German-American history this Saturday, Sept. 16.

The annual parade kicks off at noon on Saturday at Fifth Avenue and East 68th Street, marching all the way up to East 86th Street and will last until around 3 p.m.

This year's Grand Marshall is former FDNY Commissioner Thomas von Essen, who famously led the department during the 9/11 attacks.

In addition to colorful music, dancing and groups in Karneval costumes and historic Tracht, 19 colorful floats will parade down Fifth Avenue, including a Rosh Hashana "Shanah Tovah" float.

After the parade, revelers can continue their Bavarian festivities at the Central Park Oktoberfest, with doors opening around 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Central Park Summer Stage. Tickets are available online, with general admission priced at $37.

Both the parade and the Central Park Oktoberfest are sponsored by the German American Committee of Greater NY.

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.

Viewers can purchase a grandstand ticket to watch as the crowd marches uptown for $15 on the parade's website. (It will also be streamed live on the website.)

The parade celebrates 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. General von Steuben volunteered half of his life to help the Americans fight for independence, according to an Our Town article, leading many to call him the Prussian Founding Father after helping to turn the tide for the American revolutionary forces in the Battle of Yorkville at the last minute.

The parade was founded in 1957 in Ridgewood, Queens, and moved the following year to Yorkville, which was then a German-American stronghold.

To learn more about Saturday's parade and its history, click here.