Tomorrow is the start of the New Year, and the annual Mummer’s Parade up Broad St. in Philadelphia. The parade, which begins at 10 a.m., begins in South Philadelphia and ends at the Philadelphia City Hall, with approximately 8 hours of parading between.
The city is suggesting that spectators leave their cars behind and use and buses to get into the city (although if you get there early enough, there is plenty of parking).
If you plan on watching the parade from the sidewalk along Broad St., plan on getting to the parade route early and be sure to set up near a drill location, where the String Bands and Fancy Brigades stop to perform.
According to VisitPhilly.com, these spots are at the intersections of Broad and Sansom streets, Broad and Pine streets, Broad and Washington, Broad and Ritner, Broad and Shunk and at City Hall.
If there is no space at any of those locations, a second option is to watch from a staging area. VisitPhilly.com says those are Broad Street and Washington Avenue for the Comics at 10 a.m., Broad and Moore Streets for Fancies at 10:30 a.m., and Broad Street and Oregon Avenue for String Bands at 11 a.m.
Fancy Brigades (the most iconic looking of the Mummers) only get as far as Washington Ave. and then head to the Pennsylvania Convention Center where they put on two ticketed Broadway-style performances in the afternoon – one at noon and one at 5 p.m.
Of course, the best place to watch the show is from the judging stands at City Hall, but tickets for these seats must be reserved in advance from the Independence Visitors Center. (This is also where you can purchase tickets for the Fancies shows at the convention center.)
So make a day of it, enjoy the parade and all the city has to offer, and start a new family New Year’s Day tradition.
