Mummers Parade 2024: Rehearsals for parade wrap as Mummers prepare for strut on Broad Street
CENTER CITY - Final preparations are underway for the New Year celebrations across Philadelphia, as the countdown to 2024 is on.
And, Saturday night, more than 10,000 Mummers are getting ready for the strut down Broad Street Monday morning.
"We’re full throttle from here on out," Captain of South Philly Vikings Fancy Brigade, Louie Castelli, stated.
Music! Lights! Action! It looks like a rehearsal for Broadway or Cirque du Soleil, but in Philadelphia, this close to New Year’s Day, it’s the Mummers.
"This is something that a bunch of amateurs – you know, you’ve got plumbers, electricians, DJs, secretaries – they’re coming in here and they’re putting on a professional production that can rival just about any show on the street," Castelli explained.
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Castelli is the Captain of the South Philly Vikings and they won last year’s Fancy Brigade Fest and Finale, which could be why his face is all over the Mummers passes.
"How does it feel to see yourself in this image?" FOX 29’s Jennifer Lee asked.
"I’m hoping to be on it next year, too!" Castelli replied.
All 10 Fancy Brigade clubs are putting on final strokes of paint and costume checks before judging begins Monday evening.
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Anthony Stagliano, Jr., of the Fancy Brigade Association, says putting on a show like this is a year-round commitment. "Nobody does it for money. Nobody does it for anything. They do it to preserve a tradition and then, in addition to that, to be able to say we worked hard, we put together a theme for amateurs because we’re not professionals and we won!"
The Mummers tradition is over a century old and the Fancy Brigades launched in 1960. Each club reinvents itself year after year.
Jayceon Williams, of the Clevemore Fancy Brigade, is proud to be performing for the first time in 2024. "It’s just like circus. We’ve got frogs. I’m a frog, that’s why I jump. We got tigers, monkeys. All of us jump around. Some of us lose breath because we jump the whole time. We’re performing, so it takes a lot of energy to jump on our legs."
Tickets are still available for the Fancy Brigade Final Show at 11:30 January 1st and can be purchased here, on Ticket Leap.