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
PHILADELPHIA, December 8, 2005 - 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.
Mummers Parade on New Year's Day
Photo by R. Kennedy for GPTMC
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.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC)
builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing
to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay
and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For
more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the
Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National
Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.
Note to Editors: For photos of Greater
Philadelphia, visit our Photo
Gallery.
CONTACT:
Jeff Guaracino, GPTMC
(215) 599- 2290, jeff@gptmc.com