IT’S A GAY OLD TIME IN PHILLY ON NEW YEAR’S DAY
The Mummers Parade Means Glitter, Feathers And Fun For Gay Travelers To Philly
Even the best gay circuit parties can only hope to have their revelers dancing for 14 hours straight. But on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia, a party is held that can last even longer, and it’s all centered around the Mummers Parade, a 106-year-old tradition that is part of what many locals consider the best “gay” day of the year.
The Mummers Parade
The heart of the New Year’s Day celebration in Philadelphia rests on the Mummers Parade. On January 1, 2006 at 8:00 a.m., more than 12,000 men, women and children, wearing fabulous costumes, dancing and playing music, begin their strut up Broad Street.
Divided into four divisions made up of the comics, fancy clubs, string bands and fancy brigades, the Mummers wind their way though Philadelphia, passing the nearby “Gayborhood” on the way to City Hall. The parade is a true street festival that takes its cues from old Europe; everyone is welcome to celebrate here as folks from all over the region don crazy costumes of sequins, boas, feathers and wigs to celebrate New Year’s Day, Philadelphia, life and family.
Gay-Friendly Mummers
While all ages and economic backgrounds are represented in the Mummers organization, many members are working-class citizens (cops, electricians and construction workers), who take on a carnivaleseque face for New Year’s Day—and, who in another city, might have nothing to do with gay life or gay pride at all. But that’s where Philly and the Mummers are different.
The Mummers Parade itself is a spectacle that can be well appreciated by the gay community, and the Mummers organization has made a special outreach to welcome gay fans. In the late 1960s and 70s, the Mummers took the bold step of inviting drag queens to appear in the parade. Today, the organization recognizes that the parade has a tremendous number of gay fans and is hopeful that this fan base will grow. The Mummers have appeared in five gay pride parades over the past year—including Key West and San Francisco—both to help gays and lesbians celebrate pride and to encourage a visit to Philly on New Year’s Day.
The Mummers’ Fancy Brigades competition, held inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the only part of the parade that requires paid tickets, holds a special appeal to gay audiences. The Broadway-like renditions are first-rate, especially considering they’re performed by men and women with no professional training dressed in Viking costumes, as lions or a slew of other exotic characters and creatures. Performances take place at 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m
It All Comes Back To The Gayborhood
Just blocks from the Pennsylvania Convention Center and City Hall, the “Gayborhood” is party central. Everyone—straight and gay, costumed Mummers and their fans—comes to the “Gayborhood” bars to continue the New Year’s Day festivities. Sisters and Woody’s are the headquarters for the party, where costumed heterosexual men pound beers with drag queens.
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