The Philadelphia Mummers Parade is a beloved tradition that traces its roots to before the city was founded. The parade is a day long event. Imaginative floats and presentations satirize everyday life.
Comic motifs run the gamut from traditional to contemporary.
Ten categories allow individuals, trios and juveniles, as well as Captains and their pages to dress elaborately and outrageously. Accompanied by brass bands, they compete in various categories. Bigger than life floats and frame suits are interspersed with marchers. A central theme dominates music, costumes and presentations of the groups of 48 or more musicians. Plumed and bespangled, they mark time to music, highlighted by the banjo and glockenspiel.