Philadelphia Mummer String Band 2014 Results

As a boy who grew up the son of a mother from South Philadelphia and a father from the suburbs, I found myself watching the Philadelphia Mummer's Day Parade every New Years Day, until I moved to New York City, and it wasn't available to me. It was then I realized how much the men in makeup, feathers and sequins had been ingrained in my life. And this was especially true of the string band, which should come as no surprise, as I love music so much. There is something about the spectacle of it all that makes it so much fun to watch. To share it with you, I am pleased to share the top four placing bands from the 2014 parade. This is the fourth place band, Woodland String Band, as they perform 'Legend of the Lamp'.

For more about the Woodland String Band, visit their official website. You can also 'like' them on Facebook. I really enjoyed the group that finished in third place, South Philadelphia String Band. Here they are performing 'Invasion of Piracy'.

For more about the South Philadelphia String Band, visit their official website. You can also 'like' them on Facebook. In second place, Hegeman String Band were so damned good, it was hard to resist them. Watch the video of them performing 'Hegeman's Household Havoc'. This also features the winner of 1st Place in the Captain competition, John Baron.

For more about the Hegeman String Band, visit their official website. You can also 'like' them on Facebook, and 'follow' them on Twitter. Finally, the big winner of the 2014 parade was a group that was bright, colorful, and so exceptional to see and hear. This is Quaker City String Band, who took home the first place award with their performance of 'California Here We MUM!'

For more about the Quaker City String Band, visit their official website. You can also 'like' them on Facebook, and 'follow' them on Twitter. Happy New Year, Philadelphia style! To learn more about the Philadelphia Mummers Near Years Day Parade, visit their official website. There you can find a link to a live feed, if you live outside the viewing area. You can also 'like' them on Facebook, and 'follow' them on Twitter.

Philadelphia Mummers New Years Day Parade • Fancy Division

Fancy Brigades clockwise: South Philly Vikings, Saturnalian, and the Downtowners.

The Fancy Brigades are very different than the String Bands. While I remember the days of watching them march down Broad Street with the rest of the Mummers, they now perform indoors at the Philadelphia Convention Center, keeping their feathers and sequins fresh out of the weather. They don't play instruments, but instead perform to tracks mixed especially for their performances, showing style and finesse with lots of sparkle. Below are clips of the Top 3 Fancy Brigades of 2013.

In third place, the Saturnalian Fancy Brigade.



In second place, the Downtowners Fancy Brigade.



Celebrating their second consecutive first place finish, the South Philly Vikings Fancy Brigade.



Happy new year! To find out more about the Philadelphia Mummers Fancy Brigade Association, visit their official website. For a live stream of the FAncey Brigade performances online, visit PHL17.

Philadelphia Mummers New Years Day Parade 2013

If it is New Year's Day in this neck of the woods, it is time for the the Philadelphia Mummers New Years Day Parade! After all, where else could you get the light, the flash, the colors and the music, all combined into one of the best holiday celebrations anyone could find! For those of you who have never seen the Mummers in action, I thought I would share with you just a small part of the parade, the Top 3 award winners from the 2013 String Band competition. The first look will be the Woodland String Band, who finished the day in 3rd place. They had a great theme of medieval warriors from a castle, wearing, of course, plenty of feathers, satin, and sequins!

When the marks of the judges were tallied, Quaker City String Band finished in 2nd place. They adopted the theme of celebrating Native Americans, with the glamorous addition of feathers, sequins, satin, and banjos! With a scene awash with orange, yellow, and green, the Quaker City String were a sight to see.

Finally, the winner of the String Band competition last year was the very talented Fralinger String Band. Using metalic coffins, vampires, skeletons, and Frankenstein monsters, the colors were black and white, and everything in between to create a beautifully woven tapestry that enticed and intoxicated.

Happy New Year, Philadelphia style! To learn more about the Philadelphia Mummers Near Years Day Parade, visit their official website. For a live stream of the parade online, visit PHL17.

Mummers Parade 2012 String Bands

As you can tell from the pictures, the Mummers Parade is a colorful and glittery happening. With the different divisions, from the Comics to the String Bands to the Fancy Brigades, there are more feathers, sequins, makeup and shiny crystals than just about any other event in the world. I remember being hypnotized by the Mummers when I was a child, watching the parade on the television. And I still love watching it, and look forward to the 2013 Mummers Parade.



First, some great news. For the first time, a group of drag queens have come together to perform in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. That is great news, at least to me. You see, I am old enough to remember when the Parade did not allow women to march in any of the categories, so the female characters were played by men. Eventually, women were allowed to participate, and the great 'art' of drag mummery seemed to be lost. To learn more about one of these Mummers, watch this clip.

Now, to give you an idea what many in the Philadelphia area are watching for much of New Years Day, I have gotten clips of the Top Four String Bands from the 2012 Mummers Parade for your enjoyment. Now, rather than have me make stuff up, how about if I just identify and you watch? Sounds good to me. So let's do it!

Fourth Place - Joseph A. Ferko String Band



Third Place - South Philadelphia String Band



Second Place - Quaker City String Band



First Place - Woodland String Band



For more about the annual Philadelphia Mummers Parade, visit the official website.

The Mummer's New Year's Day Parade

Weather permitting, I shall be watching some of the annual Philadelphia Mummer's New Year's Day Parade, like I do every year. To give you an idea of what I will be watching, here is a look at a bit of Mummer history, and a review of the 2011 parade a year ago.

Happy 2011 - Mummer's Day Parade

Philadelphia's version of Broadway on Broad Street, New Years Day is time for the Mummer's Day Parade, and the string bands. And with more colors, sequins, feathers, and makeup than any 12 drag shows I could even imagine, the parade is a spectacle to behold. It is tradition for the family to watch the Mummer's Parade, although I have to admit, the String Bands are the highlight for me. So I thought I would offer up this little taste of Philadelphia by posting a couple a clips from last year's parade.


2010 winners, Fralinger String Band




2010 Quaker City String Band




2010 Greater Kensington String Band




2010 Avalon String Band



For a little bit more background information, you can check out my post from last year here. Happy New Year, break out the strut, and hum O Dem Golden Slippers!

New Year's Tradition - Philadelphia Mummers Parade

You have sequins, feathers, makeup, wigs, glitter and choregraphy, can it get any more gayer? Of course, it is not really gay, just a Philadelphia tradition. Every year on New Years Day, clubs from the different neighborhoods of Philadelphia and the surrounding area put on one of the most colorful and lively events you can find. The Parade has changed much in the time I have been watching it, over 40 years now. Way back when, it had three different divisions; the Comics, which were closer to New Orleans tradition of Mummery; the Fancy division, more thematic with canned music; and the String Bands, the real star of the day, with big productions and live instruments playing as they march down Broad Street. At some point, the Fancy Brigades stopped making the march, and instead are presented at an indoor arena for competition. There was a time no that long ago, much like Elizabethan theater, women were not allowed to perform, so if there was a female role needed to be filled, it was a man who stepped up to strut down Broad Street in drag. Oh, the spectacle of it all.

Comic Division (2009)




Golden Crown Fancy Brigade (2001)



Fralinger String Band (1987)



Ferko String Band (1989)