South Philly Review

Share this Story:

Dancing to the Mummers’ beat

The best thing I like about the Mummers Parade is the music and choreography of the drills. Being an avid dancer, I love to watch the clubs dance to the music. I have been a spectator of the Mummers since I was born. Since my dad and brother were involved in the Fancy Brigades, my mom would always walk me up and down the street and wait for them.

I always enjoyed the music either by the brass bands, the string bands playing their instruments or the music playing on the back of trucks. I would always get up and dance. Last year, I had the opportunity to be part of the parade atmosphere and dance with the 2nd Street Shooters. I had an awesome time performing in front of everyone. It was a great experience and I look forward to doing it again. Hopefully next year.

Jordyn DeMarco
South Philadelphia

Why I love the Mummers

Clapping, cheering, and prancing! Can you guess where I am? Well, the Mummers Parade, of course! The Mummers are a group of fun, cheerful people who love dancing elegantly on the streets of Philadelphia. When you first see them dancing around in their floats for the first time, you will be astonished.

Boatloads of people come every year to see them. It feels like when they are galloping through the overfilled streets, it seems like they just were born so magnificent, like they don’t even try or practice. It would be my dream to actually be there, at the Mummers Parade, in the judge’s seat! Sometimes I just imagine myself with the Mummers, dancing. How can you not love these wonderful people, who dedicate their time into entertaining people? That is why I truly do look up to them!

Kara Duffett
Voorhees, N.J.

A tribute to her grandpop

The South Philly Review recently conducted a talent search to find four judges between the ages of 8 and 15. Their task in 150 words or less, was to tell us: What they liked best about the Mummers Parade. Youngsters presented their cute, yet vivid descriptions of Philadelphia’s annual New Year’s Day tradition. Here are the four winning essays.

My name is Mia Iannacone and I am 10 years old. I love the Mummers Parade and I think it’s great because it is a great city tradition to be proud of and the costumes and the shows they put on are great. But the main reason I feel the Mummers are fantastic is the stories my dad tells me about when he was a little boy [and he] and his dad, which is my grandpop, spent happy times on Broad Street.

My grandpop died before I was born, but I really love when my dad tells me about the parades he went to with his dad. So, the Mummers Parade is fun for me and my family, and I look forward to going to Broad Street with my dad again knowing that I feel like my grandpop is having fun with my dad again.

Mia Iannacone
South Philadelphia

Magic Mummers

Have you ever gone to a Mummer’s Parade? [It is] one of the greatest performances I have ever seen before in my life.

The things I most like about it are the colorful costumes and the awesome tricks that some of them do. But mostly because of the color because there is much more color than just one color. The people must be very talented to do that kind of colorful art like that. I would think that it takes a long time to figure out all the right moves and all the right places to get ready for the song to come on so then they could perform.

I feel entertained when I see the Mummers onstage. It’s an inspiration to people out there [that] want to dance with the Mummers and have the times of their lives. I hope the Mummers go farther.

Mark McCafferty
Voorhees, N.J.