Philadelphia Weekly

Mummer’s Parade

What’s 2.5-miles long, 69-feet wide, 12-feet high and covered in South African ostrich feathers? The Mummers New Year’s Day Parade, synonymous with Philadelphia, is older than the city itself. The English arrived here in 1680, bringing with them the tradition of Christmas Mumming plays performed in silence by mum-mimes. By the 19th-century, the term “mummer” was applied to ham actors in plays loaded with dumb shows, noise and spectacle. The play tradition evolved into the first official parade on January 1, 1901. Today, the 113th annual parade consists of four separately judged Mummer divisions—the Comics, Wench Brigade, Fancy Division and the Fancy Brigade—followed by 23 string bands strutting north up Broad Street leaving a path of dyed feathers and glitter in their wake. -Jessica Foley

10am. Free. Broad Street and Washington Ave. phillymummers.com

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WHEN
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Recurring: ONCE

TIME & PRICE
10am. Free.

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