A sea of red, white and green took over Manhattan today. Tens of thousands of people marched up Fifth Avenue for the 75^th annual Columbus Day Parade. The parade stepped off at 11:30 a.m. following a mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

The Columbus Citizens Foundation organizes the event to pay tribute to Christopher Columbus and the contributions of countless Italian-Americans to the United States. More than 35,000 people marched from 44^th to 72^nd street in front of nearly one million spectators.