mummers parade

If you don't live in the Philadelphia area you may not know what the Mummers parade is - although I was surprised to hear this weekend that it's televised nationally so maybe more people are familiar with it than I think. It's a Philadelphia tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years. There are thousands of mummers that form clubs/associations that compete against each other in 4 different divisions in a parade held on New Years Day. You can read more about the mummers here. It's definitely fun seeing the skits and the costumes, but I think for a lot of people its the one day where you can run around Philly opening drinking and you won't get into trouble. There are some really elaborate costumes with feathers and beading (worn by the Fancies division), but you also see a lot of this:




Lots of men dressed up in ruffly dresses and bloomers carrying parasols. Very strange but definitely entertaining!

My friend Kat is engaged to a mummer and this year their theme was Lady Gaga. Here she is in her outfit:



Notice the Lady Gaga sweatshirt (which she got for Christmas!) and the bird in her hair. Her fiance's outfit was even better:



Look at those shoes! And the tutu! And the coke cans in the hair! Easily the best dressed in the group.

There was another group doing a Lady Gaga themed skit:



I love the matching parasol. Awesome.

And I had to take a photo of these guys - a whole group of oompa loompas!!

The party doesn't end once the parade does though - head down to 2nd Street in South Philly where the celebration continues. It gets a little crazy...mmm maybe a lot crazy. Lots of drunk mummers and drunk people. Maybe not as much fun if you're not drinking...