A Philadelphia tradition, New Year’s Day has seen the Mummers strut their stuff down Broad Street and show off their costumes and musical routines for the 110th year in a row. There was some controversy as to whether or not would perform in the city that most of the Mummers call home. The city of Philadelphia claimed that they were broke and could not support the cleanup required after the annual Mummers Parade and it looked as if the city’s venerable tradition would not happen. The Mummers, with the support of additional donors, instead ponied up $150,000 to the city to help pay for cleanup, police, and other expenses possibly incurred by the city in order to do so.

Fortunately, the Mummers didn’t miss a step or a sequin this year and made their march with all of the feathers and finery that they usually sport. Some of the themes on tap this year were Star Wars re-enactments with nearly every major character and Storm Troopers and Imperial Guards galore. Flying Pigs were another fanciful costume for the Comics division. Meanwhile, the String Division played their banjos and other instruments on their stroll sporting colorful animal costumes festooned with sequins and glitz worthy of Liberace.

It all paled in comparison, however, to the Fancy Brigades who put on full-fledged shows chock full of costumed pageantry. Some of the themes for their performance routines ranged from Ancient Egypt, Alien Nation with bizarre, outer space creatures, and countless other unusual ideas.

Hopefully, next year citywide budget dolldrums will subside. Either way, it looks like the Mummers are here to stay in Philadelphia and will likely not take their show to another city. The tradition continues!

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