I finally made it back to Philly, just in time for New Year's.
A lot of people watch the Rose Parade on New Year's Day.
I know people who've been in that, and say it was fun, but here in Philadelphia, we have our own parade. Everyone may stay up until after midnight to say "Happy New Year" on New Year's Eve, but a whole lot of people get up pretty early the next morning to dress up and put on the Mummers' parade. And let me tell you, it's a lot colder here than in Pasadena!
I've lived in Southern California, and the holidays there are great, but nobody does New Year's Day better than Philly.
We're the reason the reason the feather and sequins industries stay in business.
First come the Comics, then the Wenches.
Their costumes are meant to be very silly, and they're joined by the most awesome brass bands, who play while these folks just go crazy having a good time running around in costume and wishing everybody a Happy New Year.
Can you tell that some of the members of Froggy Carr are very proud of their Irish heritage?
I found this video, with the brass band playing after a very long parade, and they're still crazy good:
Later are my favorites, the string bands.
Their performances are almost like marching band field shows, but everyone's wearing lots of glitter and sequins and feathers! The costumes are also very heavy! I play the trumpet, so I can't join a string band - they only take string and woodwind players - but I love to watch!
This year, my favorite string band, Fralinger, won first place!
Their ghosts and goblins were pretty spooky!
Here's a video from the parade's youtube:
Here's the website with videos from all the string bands.
For a close-up of mummers' fancy costumes, here's a Mummer I got to meet down the shore over the summer:
Not long ago, the parade got so long that they moved one whole section of it indoors.
After the main parade ended, I had to walk to the indoor site.
On the way, I stopped at a famous department store, where I was surprised by this season's very last showing of the Wanamaker's Light Show! It was supposed to end the day before, and I thought I'd missed seeing it this year, so this was a special treat.
First, there was a concert.
The tree changes color, and we got to hear an organ player play beautiful Christmas music.
Then, music plays and a story is told. Different lights light up to tell parts of the story.
The pictures move, and it's so cool to see them all lit up!
This light show has been a Philly tradition for a really long time, and I love going to see the light show every year.
Here's a video youtube user Murraylight posted a few years ago:
Now - back to the parade.
The last group - the Fancy Brigades - are just that - FANCY - and their elaborate sets make it feel like you're watching a play.
I usually watch this part of the parade on tv, but I was so lucky, I got free tickets to see it this year.
My favorite themes were the Space theme and the Jungle Theme (based on Jumanji!)
Check out that crazy, plant-filled jungle set! Mummers spend all YEAR working on their themes, costumes, and sets.
I also really liked the Native American tribute one group, the Avenuers, did.
The Mummers like to parody anyone and everyone - Fralinger has been crazy Scotsmen and barbaric Ukrainians in the past two years. I'm part Scottish and part Ruthenian, and loved both shows, but sometimes, especially in the old days, themes about groups of people are done wrong and are just plain mean. I'm part Choctaw, too, and some Native themes at the parade and on tv turn into a game of "spot the Native Stereotype," when I get to laugh at people who use Plains tipis and Pacific Northwest totem poles and the Florida Seminole Chop to represent the same group of imaginary "Indians," instead of remembering that they're lots of smaller Nations of real people. (I'm talkin' ta you, Quaker City!)
This year, I was thrilled to see a Fancy Brigade who did a Powow theme, where they mentioned, separated, and seem to have researched each Nation they were representing. Everything got the Mummer feather-and-sparkle treatment, but it was awesome.
I love, Love, LOVED the Fancy Shawl Dresses one group of girls wore.
I know people who say "we're a culture, not a costume," and there are still people in the parade today who really need to think about if their costume or performance is nice to others or is mean, but this group did it well.
Here's the group dance at the end - the colors swirling are so beautiful, and really reminded me of the color and energy of group dances at some powwows I've been to!
Here's a link to all the videos from the parade - you can find the Fancy Brigade Videos at the bottom of the page. You really need to check out the R U Game and the Alien Rising shows!
Have a Happy and Healthy 2013!
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