Cheering crowds lined up behind metal barricades along Fifth Avenue Monday for New York’s 78th annual Columbus Day Parade – the world’s largest celebration of Italian-American culture and heritage. Over 100 groups participated in this year’s parade, including over 20 marching bands, 18 floats and dozens of performance groups, according to the Columbus Citizen Foundation, a nonprofit group that organizes the parade every year.

At various street corners along 47th to 72nd street, there were people selling Italian flags to bypassers. Jenna Espisito, a singer known for her dedication to the “Great Italian American Songbook,” rode on a float while belting out tunes that could be heard blocks away. On another float, a woman was giving out free Italian flags and candy. There were crowds of people waiting in line for 20 minutes at a time just to cross the street.