PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After 731 days of waiting, after a pandemic cancellation in January 2021 and a New Year's Day 2022 postponement caused by rain, the Mummers Parade finally hit Broad Street on Sunday with all the strut and all the pep in their step.
By 10 a.m. Sunday, lots of cheers, color, sequins and feathers regaled City Hall as everyone filed in on Market Street from 21st to 15th streets to get in front and do their dances and performances.
They showed their pride in Philly. After two years, they were bringing fun and fire, the same that the Fancy Brigade show performers did the night before in the weatherproof indoor cover of the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday night.
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Morning crowds were not as big as they were pre-pandemic, but the music was just as loud. There were enough parade-goers to make Mummers performers feel that all their hard work was worth it.
"I’m just thrilled to be here for a second time to see the performances," said Mummers fan Omar Thompson.
"It’s my first time," said Katy. "This is a Philadelphia tradition. I always watch on TV, and my friend was like, 'Come on. I’m taking you.'"
Those who attended, like Omar and Katy, were required to mask up and protect each other against COVID-19.
"Precautions (are) in place. We want people to enjoy the parade, but we want people to be safe, be wearing masks," said Bobby Coyle, a performer at the Mummers Parade with the Avalon String Band.
"It’s my first time not marching on New Year’s Day, so it’s a whole other experience," added Jeff Goldman of the O'Malley String Band.
But precautions did not overshadow the main theme. One man from the Bryson Brigade shared that theme in hot pink, sporting with a parasol.
"You know what," he said, "we're bringing the love today."
Drivers had to go through numerous road closures, including Broad Street where there was no traffic from South Penn Square to Washington Avenue.
The full closure list from the City of Philadelphia:
- 15th Street from Arch Street to Chestnut Street
- Market Street from 15th Street to 21st Street
- Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 16th Street to 20th Street
- North Broad Street from Cherry Street to John F. Kennedy Boulevard
- 16th Street from Chestnut Street to Race Street
- 17th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Ludlow Street
- 18th Street from Race Street to Ludlow Street
- 19th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Chestnut Street
- 1500 block of Ranstead Street
- 1300 block of Carpenter Street
- 1000 block of South 13th Street
- Chestnut Street from 15th Street to 18th Street (north side)
- Cherry Street from 15th Street to 17th Street
- Arch Street from 15th Street to 17th Street
- Washington Avenue from 12th Street to 18th Street
The Mummers Parade, believed to be the nation's oldest folk festival, stems from a mixture of immigrant traditions, some dating back of the 1640s, dubbed "mummer," likely from the German word for "mask."
It mixes the immigrant traditions of the Scandinavians who welcomed the new year with gunfire, the English and Welsh who entertained with masquerade plays, and the Germans credited with introducing Santa Claus to their new surroundings.
Black residents arriving after the Civil War added the signature strut along with "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers," the parade's theme song. The parade became an official city-sponsored event in 1901.
The traditional spectacle now includes competition in four divisions: comics, the satirists; Fancies, with the flashiest outfits; Fancy Brigades, with choreographed theatrical works; and String Bands, the dancing musicians, with their traditional theme "Oh! Dem Golden Slippers."
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KYW Newsradio Staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
