Mummers Parade 2013

Live Stream, Route, Start Time, Lineup

Philadelphia, PA 1 January, 10am

Across the USA it has become an increasingly popular tradition to haul your weary bones out of bed early on New Year's Day and take to the streets to watch (or for the exceptionally hardy, take part in) a New Year Parade. The exact origin of this tradition is uncertain, but ask anyone in the Philadelphia area and they'll tell you in no uncertain terms that their Mummers Parade is the oldest of it's kind in the country.

As to the unusual name, the name Mummer is thought to be of Germanic origin, meaning costume or masquerade. Certainly Mummer's Plays can be traced as far back as medieval times in England, and the word is often seen as being interchangeable with actor or performer.

What is certain is that it's an event well worth attending, a festival of colour, music and entertainment guaranteed to help clear even the muggiest head. A particular feature of the Mummers parade are the clowns, members of local comic clubs named Goodtimers, Landi, Liberty and Murray, and dressing in outrageous costumes, typically featuring brightly coloured umbrellas.

There are a number of other groups of participants (the Mummers that give the parade its title) unique to the Philadelphia parade, namely the Fancies, String Bands and Fancy Brigades, each bringing their own particular brand of entertainment to the party. In total over 10,000 performers take part. The best way to appreciate this is undoubtedly to attend in person, and if you have done so we would love to hear your reviews (see the feedback section at the bottom of this page).

The parade marches north up Broad Street to JFK Boulevard and city Hall.

String Bands Order of March:

Greater Overbrook
Durning
Trilby
Broomall
South Philadelphia
Hegeman
Woodland
Aqua
Uptown
Polish American
Avalon
Ferko
Greater Kensington
Quaker City
Duffy
Pennsport
Fralinger

Each band will perform a full drill at 3 different locations throughout the day:  these are at Shunk Street, Washington Avenue and Pine Street. It's recommended to get to these sites early for the best views.

For anyone who can't make it in person, the Philadelphia Mummers parade is being streamed live online this year, starting from 10am local time, and running through until around 6pm:

PHL Mummers Parade Live Stream

If you're in Philadelphia over the New Year period and looking for somewhere to stay, you can check out availability and make reservations for local hotels here.

We would love to hear any personal experiences or feedback from the events we feature - if you've been or are going to this parade, please post any of your own comments or reviews in the box below.

For details of all the most popular New Year's Day parades, including those at Trinidad Carnival, New Orleans Mardi Gras, Dublin, New York, Pasadena and London, see our Parades page.