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Mummers Parade

My big plans for New Year's Day include watching the Mummers Parade.  It is the most amazing parade ever.   It is huge and is held on New Year's Day in Philadelphia.   I grew up watching it and then had to suffer withdrawal for years because it was not televised in this part of the country. 

Now, thanks to the Internet, it is online.  I can watch at phl17.com and listen to Steve Hightower announce.  He is an expert on the parade and has been the announcer for years. 

What is unique about the Mummers Parade is that they put on a show – a performance.  There are full marching bands, string bands, everyone in costume and they stop and act out a little play to music, while playing and while marching.  There are sets and backdrops.  It is like tiny little musical performances in the street and there are scores of them.  The parade lasts for six hours.  It is a spectacle for sure.  When I was a child, I was fascinated with the costumes.  Now, I am in awe of the stamina and ability of the Mummers.

Each performance is a separate local club (they come from all over the Mid-Atlantic and New England states) and they compete in one of four categories – comics, fancies, string bands, and fancy brigades.   These clubs work on the movable scenery and set and their act for the whole year. 

When I watch the Mummers Parade and listen to the announcers and interviews and see the familiar sites of Philadelphia, I get homesick.  It brings back my childhood and I love hearing the accents of my youth.  I feel a part of it and miss hearing those voices and sounds.  There are no other parades like it and I look forward to it each year.  It is a fabulous show and a call back to my roots. 


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Comments

  1. Dennis TardanDecember 30, 2014 at 9:26 AM

    I'll be right there beside you, sweetie You've gotten me hooked!

    ReplyDelete

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