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The Mummers Parade
Mummers strut up Broad Street, leaving behind a trail of glitter, feathers and fun
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Mummers strut up Broad Street
Photo by G. Widman for GPTMC
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Mummers 101: The Scoop on Philadelphia's New Year's Day Tradition
New Year’s Day is about celebrating, and there’s no better place to fete than at the Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade, a 107-year-old tradition in which 10,000 men and women dressed in colorfully lavish costumes twirl, sashay, pirouette and strut up one of the city’s main streets.
An unforgettably wild ritual, the parade and subsequent performances are all family friendly, yet exciting enough to entertain everybody. While a carnival-like atmosphere welcomes anyone who decides to stop by at the last minute, a little advance preparation guarantees a clear view. Better still, spending the night in the city ensures an early start to the day. Plenty of hotel packages are offered.
Who?:
Mummers are men and women of all ages who belong to one of 44 social clubs that make up the organization. The clubs, split into four divisions — Comics, Fancies, String Bands and Fancy Brigades — function mainly to stage their playful performances on New Year’s Day. But Mummers do perform at other events throughout the year, and for many Philadelphia-area families, Mummery is a tradition that spans generations.
What?:
The day’s highlight is the parade itself, which begins in South Philadelphia in the morning and winds its way up Broad Street to City Hall approximately eight hours later. Each division knows its role: the Comics, often dressed as wenches, satirize issues, institutions and people; the Fancies impress with their glamorous outfits that rival those of royalty; the String Bands gleefully play banjoes, saxophones and percussion instruments; and the Fancy Brigades produce tightly choreographed theatrical extravaganzas.
But the noisy camaraderie shouldn’t fool the novice spectator, as each club is embroiled in a friendly yet fierce competition for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes, disbursed among the four divisions. The purse is chiefly a pass to brag throughout the year, as it hardly covers the expenses incurred from dressing and preparing for the parade, which ranged from $20,000 to $120,000 per club in 2006.
After they’ve displayed their floats, costumes, dances and music, the Comics, Fancies and String Bands head down to Two Street to spend the rest of the day and night in hearty revelry with the crowds that follow them there. But there’s more work ahead for members of the Fancy Brigades, who put on two elaborate Broadway-style performances for ticket holders at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the afternoon. The winning club receives an $8,000 cash prize.
Where?:
First things first: spectators are encouraged to leave their cars behind and take public transportation into the city. Those who drive should park in a garage. One of the best places to view the spectacle is from the judging stands outside City Hall, but tickets must be reserved in advance. (See below.)
For sidewalk seating, arrive early and set up near a drill location, where marching String Bands and Fancy Brigades stop to perform. These spots are at the intersections of Broad Street and the following streets: Sansom, Pine, Washington, Tasker, McKean, Ritner and Shunk. If there’s no space there, another option is to watch from a staging area: Broad Street and Washington Avenue (Comics, 8:50 a.m.), Broad Street and Snyder Avenue (Fancies, 10:00 a.m.), Broad Street and Oregon Avenue (String Bands, 10:20 a.m.).
Fancy Brigades start at Oregon Avenue in the mid-afternoon but only get as far as Washington Avenue, where they get on buses and head for the convention center. (Tip: Because each division starts at a different intersection, the only non-ticketed place to watch all of them is on Broad Street and Washington Avenue.)
When?:
The parade begins at 8:50 a.m. and ends sometime before 7:00 p.m. Fancy Brigades hold two ticketed competitions at the Pennsylvania Convention Center – the first at 12:00 noon and the second at 5:00 p.m. (See below for ticket information.) The revelry then moves to Two Street for a party the goes well into the early morning hours.
Why?:
Mummery traces its roots to ancient Roman laborers who ushered in the festival of Saturnalia by marching in masks while exchanging gifts and satirizing the issues of the day. In the 1600s, Swedish settlers to Philadelphia’s outskirts honored Christmas by beseeching their neighbors for dessert and liquor by dressing up, chanting and shooting firearms.
The party eventually migrated to New Year’s Day and evolved into a series of neighborhood parades; then, as immigrants moved to the area from Ireland and Italy, each group added their own cultural flair to the local customs. In 1901, the tradition began in earnest with the first recognized and judged Mummers Parade. The term “Mummer” is German and means “to costume or masquerade.”
How?:
Tickets for bleacher seating at City Hall (15th and Market Streets) are available at the Independence Visitor Center (6th and Market Streets, (215) 965-7676) for $14.50. Tickets to both Fancy Brigade Finales can be purchased for $14-$19 at The Pennsylvania Convention Center (11th and Arch Streets), online at www.ticketphiladelphia.org or by calling (215) 893-1999.
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