Crowds were larger for Tuesday’s 119th edition of the Mummers Parade than for last year’s subfreezing Code Blue outing, but crowds were not what they should have been, given weather as warm as at the Rose Parade.
Passable sidewalks in Center City are the new normal for Philadelphia’s original, the oldest and largest folk celebration in the United States.
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Light attendance is a shame, because to this veteran parade observer (and former Comic marcher), the performance quality on the street was above average this year — for those who could see it. The only people with an unobstructed view of performances complete with all props and scenery were the few hundred people in City Hall bleachers looking west on Market Street.
In recent decades, compromises have been made to resuscitate what had been a stop-and-go parade that had fallen into bad health. The parade was put on a diet, reducing its time and distance.
Once upon a time, the parade ran north from Oregon Avenue to Girard and could take 12 hours. Now it’s limited to 9-to-5, covering 1.3 miles south from City Hall to Washington Avenue. Full scenery and props are used only at the City Hall performance area, with cut-down versions in front of the Union League, at Pine and Carpenter Streets.
Capt. Jimmy Good leads the Quaker City Sting Band down 2 Street on Jan. 1, 2019. They won the string band competition and Good won the captain competition.Read more / Staff Photographer
A couple of members of the Murray Comic Brigade go under a limbo stick someone from the crowd was holding out as they make their way down 2 Street on Jan. 1, 2019.Read more
Members of the Mad Hatters make their way down 2 Street on Jan. 1, 2019.Read more
Carolyn Auwaerter and the Bob Dylans dance their way down 2 Street on Jan. 1, 2019. They were dressed to represent the Schuylkill River.Read more
Jimmy Kreschollek is silhouetted as he raises an American Flag while walking down Broad Street in the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Bill Beach and Bill Haubrich of the Goodtimers comic division walk down Broad Street in the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Bill Beach of the Goodtimers comic division wears a Donald Trump mask while walking down Broad Street in the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Greater Kensington String Band makes its way down Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Greater Kensington String Band makes its way down Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Members of the MGK Outsiders New Years Brigade wait to make their way down Broad Street for the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The crowd is seen behind bubbles as the Lobster Club makes its way down Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Clevemore Fancy Brigade performs "Be Our Guest" on Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The crowd reacts as members of the Lobster Club shoot out confetti during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Cynthia McKeown, left, watches as Meg Rider records the Mummers Parade on her phone on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Joe Wenger of the Froggy Carr dances with the crowd as he makes his way down Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Lobster Club performs on Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
The Lobster Club performs as they make their way down Broad Street during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Captain Joe Accetta Pennsport String Band performs, Midnight Maddness at the Art Museum, at the 2019 Mummers Parade, Philadelphia January 1, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
Pennsport String Band performs, Midnight Maddness at the Art Museum, during the 2019 Mummers Parade on the west side of Philadelphia City Hall on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
A dancer with the Spartans performs during the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme is "La Celebración De Los Muertos" (Day of the Dead).Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
The Convention Center crew sweeps up the confetti between performances of the the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Center January 1, 2019.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Dancers with the Downtowners perform during the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme is "This Is Halloween."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Pete Clark with the South Philly Vikings holds five month--old daughter Hazel with two year-old Harper as the club greets the audience following their performance during the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme: “The Galactic Circus: Coming to a Planet near You.”Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Dancers with the Vikings perform during the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme: "The Galatic Circus: Coming To A Planet Near You."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
First year Avenuers captain, Robert Fitzmaurice Jr. performs during the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. He replaces his father, Robert Fitzmaurice Sr,. who retired as captain last year after 30 years. The elder Fitzmaurice was still in costume, serving as co-captain. Their theme is "Reflections Of China."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Young angel dancers with Golden Crown pause after they performed during the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme is "Fall From Grace."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
A dancer with Golden Crown performs during the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme is "Fall From Grace."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Eileen Barnes of Sewell, N.J. feeds her 22-day-old grandson Tristan Esposito, attending his first Mummers Day event, at the New YearÕs Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Helping her is granddaughter Kayleen Beebe, 4. Besides the two cousins, Barnes, who had attended "quite a few" Mummers, has another, and two more grandchildren on the way.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Dancers portraying toymakers with the Jokers perform during the New Year’s Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme us "Puppetry In The Making."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
A skyline of Philadelphia is the backdrop as a stage hand/marshall with the South Philly Vikings Fancy Brigade gets ready for their performance at the New Year's Day Mummers Parade Fancy Brigade finale inside the Convention Center January 1, 2019. Their theme: "The Galactic Circus: Coming To A Planet Near You."Read moreTom Gralish / TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Dana Stradtner holds her son Trey members of the Trama N.Y.B. strut along Broad Street, during the 2019 Mummers Parade.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Members of The Holy Rollers N.Y.B., strut along Broad Street, during the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pa. Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Members of the Murray Comics, the Mollywoppers, strut down Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia during the 2019 Mummers Parade on New Year's Day, Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Parade goers cheers as comics strut along Broad Street, during the 2019 Philadelphia Mummers Parade on New Year's Da , Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Fans continuously chant for the Eagles during the Mummers Parade on News Years Day in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 01, 2019. The unseasonably warm weather drew large crowds this year.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
A member of the Murray Comic Club, walks down Broad Street, during the Mummers parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pa. Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Tony Fromm with the Neverlanders marches down 12th street near Chestnut during the Mummers Parade through Center City, Philadelphia.Read moreMargo Reed
Antonio Ligameri marches in the 2019 Mummers Parade in Center City, Philadelphia, Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
Carlos Perry with the Brass Connection Band plays the tuba during the 2019 Mummers Parade, January 1, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed
Members of Froggy Carr Wench Brigade strut past a row of Philadelphia police officers at City Hall during the 2019 Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Members of the Saints Wench Brigade strut for the judges at Philadelphia City Hall during the Mummers Parade, New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Chris Petrowsky, of the Riverfront Wench Brigade, struts at the 2019 Mummers New Years Day parade in Center City Philadelphia on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Devoe White plays a sousaphone alongside members of the Saints Wench Brigade beside Philadelphia City Hall on New Year's Day, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
John Derieux, with the Bryson Wench Brigade, sports a pair of 2019 glasses during the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, PA on new years day Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Ed Cox waits to perform in his 41st year with the Golden Sunrise Fancies on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Ace McLaughlin, of Cara Liom, waits for his turn to step off in the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Harry Dougherty, of the Golden Sunrise Fancy Brigade, waits on the 1500 block of Market Street for the start of the Mummers parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Jennifer Hensell, of Golden Sunrise Fancy Brigade, fights the wind as she waits for the start of the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Drew Krause, a member of the Vaudevillians, rides the Market / Frankford elevated train to get his makeup for the start of the 2019 Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Janis Anderson, left, of Milton DE, and her daughter-in-law, Donna Horne, of Blue Bell, Pa, wait for the start of the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Sean Callan, of Froggy Carr club, paints his sneakers gold on 2nd Street before the start of Mummers parade in Philadelphia, PA on New Years day, January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Tony Capelli, left, and Fred Spitz, right, of the Froggy Carr club, have a pre-parade toast at the Shamrock Pub on 2nd Street on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Joe Kirlin, who is marking his 65th year in the parade, makes his way up 2nd Street with the Pirates club on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, PA on January 1, 2019.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
The Avalon String Band rehearses for their strut down Broad Street by marching down Second Street toward their clubhouse the weekend before 2019 Mummers Parade.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Delores Kubiak blows a kiss to the Avalon String Band after they presented her with flowers and serenaded her outside her Front Street home December 30, 2018. The band has done so for the past five Decembers, after her son Michael Kubiak, Jr., a band member and 17th District Philadelphia Police Officer died of suicide in 2012.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Jason Schlupp of Reading, Pa., watches players warm up while dressed up in a copy of Jason Kelce's Mummer suit before a game between the Eagles and the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer
Gianna Perez (front), Brianna Lioy, Bailee Otto (left), and Liz McLead (back), of the Spartans brigade rehearse at the Philadelphia Convention Center Saturday, December 29, 2018. The Fancies rehearsed during MummersFest just three days before the 2019 Mummers New Year's Day parade.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
The Avenuers brigade rehearses at the Philadelphia Convention Center Saturday, December 29, 2018. The Fancies rehearsed during MummersFest just three days before the 2019 Mummers New Year's Day parade.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Mummers parade judges and organizers meet for lunch and parade preparation at the Mummers Museum in South Philadelphia December 28, 2018. Mummers parade judges meet every year for a lunch to prepare for the parade.Read moreMARGO REED / Staff Photographer
Brian McKenna with the defending champion Golden Crown Fancy Brigade carries props for their 2019 theme, "Fall from Grace."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Brothers Lou Vilotti (left) and Joe Vilotti work on prop skeleton horses for their Downtowners Fancy Brigade with the 2019 theme, "This Is Halloween" as they prepare for MummersFest in the Convention Center December 27, 2018. The skeletons are repurposed, as they were used by the South Philadelphia String Band last year (theme was ÒWest in Peace").Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Mummers Golden Sunrise Captain, Mike Rubillo, right, and Jack Cohen, left, discuss the arrangements on wearing their heavy harnesses and back-pieces at their headquarters in South Philadelphia. Tuesday, December 11, 2018.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
The parade officially started at 9 a.m. at City Hall under cloudy skies at an amazing 58 degrees. (It unofficially began earlier as Wenches noisily walked up Broad Street out of South Philly to their assembly point west of City Hall.)
By noon the sun had come out, and some costumed marchers started shedding shirts and sweaters. Winds forecast as gusting to 50 mph fortunately stayed away. High winds can play havoc with air-catching elaborate back pieces. No one wants to see Mummers become a kite.
The parade ended around 5 p.m. with no controversy I could detect. MrMummer.com reported complaints from supporters of President Trump over skits that satirized him.
However, City Council President Darrell Trump — oops, I mean Clarke — sent out a hysterical news release Wednesday morning accusing the Finnegan New Years Brigade Comic Club of violating the ban on blackface, my colleague Chris Brennan reports. Clarke did worse than go off half-cocked. He went off uncocked.
The Finnegan skit was a live recreation of a Signe Wilkinson cartoon — and it had been approved by the city in late September, Finnegan Captain Mike Inemer told me.
Clarke blasted out his slanderous news release with minimal, if any, checking, then backtracked -- without apology -- to call the skit “minstrelsy,” which insults Darrel Young, the black Philadelphian who played Jay-Z. Clarke falsely accused and convicted all Mummers of bigotry and then didn’t have the spine to say he was wrong. Just gutless.
As usual, the parade had no overarching theme, but unity could be heard in something repeated over and over: “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!”
Anything wearing an Eagles logo drew cheers from a crowd more upbeat than usual, maybe due to the mild weather, maybe to basking in the reflected glory of the Eagles' championship season.
At the height of the parade, with string bands marching down Broad, only three rows of spectators stood in front of the Academy of Music at Locust, a prime viewing spot.
Along the parade route, a few Comics and Wenches handed out trinkets to fans behind the barricades, and also posed for pictures, particularly with kids. More of that should be done to connect with fans and build future fans. Kids love the parade because of the color, the costumes, and the music.
String band aficionados felt sadness as the Peter A. Broomall string band made its 89th and final march on Broad Street. Its swan song was a strong performance. The Broomall family of National Park, Gloucester County, is hanging up its golden slippers, but band members plan to reemerge as the Jersey string band.
Theirs is an understandable emotion, but why? Does the parade need 16 bands, some of which are chronically weak? Might it be better to populate other bands with members of the former Broomall? Might the Mummers consider sweating down the number of bands to a dozen? That would result in fewer, stronger bands and a shorter parade.
Strong bands include Quaker City, Fralinger, South Philly, Woodland, Ferko, Hegeman. I am not telling anyone to disband their band. I know many clubs are made up of friends and family members.
But even families can reach the end of the road. Ask Peter A. Broomall.
