Photo by Flickr user momentcaptured1
In 1957, a brand-new parade marched up Fifth Avenue, turned east onto a street locals called the “German Boulevard,” and finished on Second Avenue to cheering crowds in a part of the Upper East Side still known then as Germantown. Nearly seven decades later it’s still going, and this Saturday it’ll shut down a long stretch of Fifth Avenue, with Germany’s ambassador to the United States leading the way.
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The 69th annual German-American Steuben Parade steps off at noon on Saturday, September 19, and marches up Fifth Avenue to 86th Street, with marchers forming up on the side streets in the high 60s beforehand. Expect Fifth Avenue to be closed along the route for the afternoon, along with the cross streets used for staging near the start and dispersal near 86th Street; the NYPD and DOT typically post the full list of closures later in the week.The parade’s ending point is no accident. When it first ran in 1957, it turned at 86th Street and crossed over to Second Avenue, right through the heart of what was then Little Germany. The parade committee describes an 86th Street lined with German shops, konditoreis (pastry shops), beer gardens, vereins (social clubs), theaters, restaurants, newspapers and dance halls. The parade itself was founded by German immigrants and German-Americans who wanted to keep their homeland’s traditions alive, and it’s named for Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Prussian-born general who trained George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War. It had a trial run the year before in Ridgewood, Queens, and the German and American flags carried at every parade since were presented at the very first one by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and West German President Theodor Heuss.
Today the roughly three-hour procession is led by cadets from West Point’s German Language Club (the club was founded by von Steuben himself), followed by floats, marching bands, dancers and cultural groups from across the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Canada, along with Miss German-America and her court. Every year one or more Grand Marshals lead the march, and past honorees have included Henry Kissinger, George Steinbrenner, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and high-wire walker Nik Wallenda. This year’s Grand Marshals are Jens Hanefeld, who became Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. in July 2025 after a career that included stints in London, Washington and Ethiopia and a stretch at Volkswagen, and Norbert R. Wirsching, who started out as a tool and die maker at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart and went on to run electronics manufacturing operations across Asia, Europe and the U.S.
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The day starts with a 9 a.m. mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and once the last float clears 86th Street, the party moves into Central Park. The committee’s Oktoberfest at SummerStage in Rumsey Playfield opens its gates at 1 p.m. General admission is $37 for adults and $5 for kids ages 6 to 13, with kids under 6 free; a $200 VIP ticket adds a private area with seating next to the stage, catering and beer. Watching the parade itself is free, and for anyone who’d rather skip the crowds, the committee is streaming a live broadcast on its website.Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
