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Mummers Parade 2024 is here! Dating back to 1901, the Mummers Parade is a folk parade held each year on New Year's Day in Philadelphia. It is the longest-running folk parade in the United States of America, and the celebration engages the whole city in a festive frenzy.
The Philadelphia Mummers Parade is most comparable to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Clubs in one of five divisions offer various forms of entertainment, such as floats, elaborate costumes, and live shows. Comedies, Fancies, Fancy Brigades, Wench Brigades, and Fancy Bands are the five divisions.
Jokes, dances, and group contests to determine who can keep the spectators entertained the longest are held. Additionally, the Mummers have their own "Mummers Strut."
Mummers Parade 2024: History of the Parade
As per the Quaker City String Band, Scandinavian immigrants were among the first to introduce the Mummers tradition to the Philadelphia area. These customs laid the groundwork for the eventual Mummers Parade in the City of Brotherly Love and the elaborately costumed British traditional drama St. George and the Dragon.
The British sent General William Howe off with a send-off procession in 1778, modeled on the Mummers procession of today. President George Washington supported Mummers' New Year's Day celebrations when he lived in Philadelphia. In exchange for alcohol and cake, participants would knock on doors, tell jokes, recite poetry, and pose. It was akin to adult trick-or-treating.
When their masquerades were labeled a "public nuisance," mummers' celebrations were drastically reduced in the early 19th century. However, by the 1850s, they were back with a bang, and Philadelphia formally adopted the Mummers Parade in 1901.
Mummers Parade 2024: Where is it happening?
The 124-year-old New Year's tradition of the Mummers Parade takes place in the city of Philadelphia. Mummers Parade 2024 starts at 9 a.m. at 17th and Market streets before turning at City Hall and continuing south on Board Street to Washington Avenue.
Citizens of Philadelphia can expect the following streets to be closed from 3 a.m. onwards due to the parade processions:
- 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 Ludlow Street to Race Street
- 19th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Chestnut Street
- 1500 blocks of Ranstead Street
- 1300 block of Carpenter Street
- 1000 blocks 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
Mummers Parade 2024: Where to watch it on TV?
There are designated performance areas on Broad Street at Sansom, Pine, and Carpenter streets (lawn chairs permitted), and spectators can watch the Mummers Parade for free anywhere along its 1.5-mile path.
The Mummers Parade 2024 will also be streamed live on television for non-Philadelphians! The Mummers Parade in 2024 will be shown "wherever you stream 6ABC," according to the outlet. According to Mr. Mummer, audiences can watch the event online at WFMZ-TV, on the WFMZ+ app, and on television at WDPN-TV.
