Ready to strut on Broad Street: Your guide to 2024 Mummers Parade in Philly

More than 120 years of colorful history will be on display on South Broad Street on New Year's Day as the Mummers make their annual strut.

We have now learned the route and timing for the 2024 Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, which is title sponsored by Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia

"The Mummers Parade is a New Year’s Day tradition in Philadelphia, and we are thrilled to play a role in keeping that spirited tradition alive," Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia exective vice president and general manager Craig Clark said.

Whether you're part of a local club taking part in the festivities, you're headed out to watch in the crowd, or you're just an uninterested Philadelphian wondering how you'll get around on Monday, Jan. 1, here's everything you need to know about the 2024 Mummers Parade.

Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. . When and where is the 2024 Mummers Parade?

The 124th Mummers Parade begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1, and is set to go until around 5 p.m. Mummers will start at 17th and Market then head toward City Hall before dancing down South Broad Street to Washington Avenue.

Along the route, several official performance areas will be set up for the groups to perform their skits. A judging stand will be set up on the west side of City Hall at Dilworth Plaza at the beginning of the route, and performances will also take place at three locations down Broad Street - at Sansom Street, Pine Street and Carpenter Street.

After the parade concludes, the unofficial after party continues in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philadelphia, along South 2nd Street - also called "Two Street". Many of the Mummers' clubhouses - where performers typically spend much of the year preparing for the New Year's Day party - are in the neighborhood.

Don't want to be cold waiting for the Mummers to strut by?

This year, the full 2024 Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia Mummers Parade will be broadcast on WFMZ-TV and MeTV2, organizers announced. Former Philadelphia TV news personalities (and husband-wife duo) Larry Mendte and Dawn Stensland will host the broadcast, with help and insight from various commentators.

How does the competition work at the Mummers Parade?

Clubs are separated into four categories - Comic, Wench, Fancy and String Bands divisions, according to organizers.

"This year’s parade will include 1 Fancy club, 9 Wench Brigades, 3 Comic clubs and 14 String Bands," organizers said.

Comics wear colorful outfits and usually put on shows that parody recent events, while the Wench Brigades perform similar acts but typically add instruments. The String Bands deliver full musical performances with props and dramatic costumes.

The elaborately-dressed Fancy Brigades take part in only a portion of the parade before moving inside for MummersFest shows at the Pennsylvania Convention Center at 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Prizes are given out in a variety of categories among each division, but the primary prize is bragging rights.

Are tickets required for the Mummers Parade?

Attending the parade is free, but if you'd like to upgrade your experience, you can purchase tickets to the seated area near the judging stand near City Hall. Those tickets are $25 and can be purchased through the Independence Visitor Center .

Tickets for the Fancy Brigades shows at the Convention Center start at $28 and can also be purchased through the Visitor Center.

Isn't there controversy surrounding the Mummers?

The Mummers parade touts itself as a "time-honored" and "family-friendly" tradition. However, Mummers festivities have long been described by many as racist , homophobic , and otherwise culturally insensitive.

Controversy most recently came to the forefront in 2020, when a member of the 'Froggy Carr' brigade wore blackface in the parade and later defended his decision to do so . The brigade was disqualified from the event as a result, with Mayor Jim Kenney calling it "abhorrent."

Kenney threatened to end city support of the parade entirely in a 2020 letter to each of the Mummers groups.

“This parade has an infamous history of using racially and culturally insensitive themes, and the repeated inability of Mummers leadership to control the use of blackface by some participants threatens the City’s continued support for the parade,” Kenney wrote.

In the past couple of years, the Mummers have made efforts to not stoke controversy.

for more on the long history of Mummery.

Street Closures, Parking Restrictions for the 2024 Mummers Parade

Street closures will be aplenty throughout Center City and South Philly.

Check back here in the weeks ahead for a full list of street closures and parking restrictions for the parade.

What if it rains?

Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, is the rain date for the parade, Phillies announcer Dan Baker said at a introductory news conference. Timing on the rain date would be the same, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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