In the String Band Spectacular, Mummers give their all at the chilly Linc

Nearly a month after dangerous winds snarled their New Year’s Day performances, a dozen Mummers string bands got their encore.

The slate of bands reimagined their Jan. 1 routines Saturday on the snow-covered Lincoln Financial Field. It was a break from the norm — but perhaps the start of a new tradition for the 125-year-old Mummers.

“This is how we do it in our city,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker rallied the chilly but boisterous crowd. “When we set our minds to get something done, we won’t let the weather or anything stop us.”

The mayor suggested: “I think we might be on to something big.”

While the musical magnum opus of the Mummers Parade strutted down Broad Street to kick off 2026, the competitive portion of the spectacular was postponed due to unexpected squalls that damaged props and sent five people to the hospital with minor injuries.

It was not the first disruption to the century-old holiday parade, but it was the first time that the popular string band division was suspended. The reenvisioned judged portion — dubbed the String Band Spectacular — on the Philadelphia Eagles’ home turf was announced weeks later.

“Thousands of people are out here cheering like it’s New Year’s Day all over again,” Sam Regalbuto, president of the Philadelphia Mummers String Band Association, said. “The cold isn’t keeping the fans away, and it’s definitely not keeping the energy down out on the field.”

Laksumi Sivanandan, 27, and Carter Davis, 30, of East Passyunk, were at the parade on New Year’s Day but were excited to see the string bands with different scenery — and have the rare opportunity to be feet from the Eagles sideline at an accessible price. (More than 5,000 tickets, ranging from $12 to $25, were sold, according to Regalbuto.)

“It’s fun to see it in a different environment — usually you’re sitting on a lawn chair on Broad Street.”

But the rescheduled event was not without its own weather woes: On Friday, at least one string band pulled out of the performance, citing the frigid temperatures. A total of 14 bands make up the Philadelphia Mummers String Band Association, according to its website, but only 12 were scheduled to take the stage Saturday.

A coastal “bomb cyclone” was expected to douse parts of New Jersey and Delaware with some snowfall this weekend, while stinging winds and arctic air in Philadelphia pushed temperatures into single digits and plunged wind chills to as low as 10 degrees below zero. At the height of the show Saturday, temperatures barely eclipsed 20 degrees at the open-air Linc.

For spectators, who were clustered in the stadium’s lower bowl and sprinkled in suites, the keys to staying warm: layers, hand warmers, and beer jackets.

But the event offered Mummers enthusiasts and newbies alike an opportunity to enjoy the bands’ jovial music, unique sound, and elaborate costumes — with performances taking the audience from the sights of Las Vegas to New Orleans, a funhouse, and the Beauty and the Beast mansion — outside of New Year’s revelry.

“This is the moment each of the string bands work so hard for, and we’re so thrilled,” Regalbuto said. “This all came together to give them their shining spotlight out on that field in an unprecedented way. We couldn’t be more excited.”