2025 Mummers Parade steps off as Philadelphia rings in the new year

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

The Mummers are helping the city of Philadelphia ring in the New Year on Wednesday!

Participants were getting in costume and makeup early New Year’s Day.

Inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Tuesday afternoon, the finishing touches were put on the performances and on the elaborate, sequined costumes that have defined this New Year’s Day tradition that dates back to 1901.

At Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in South Philadelphia, a Mummers Mass was held late Tuesday afternoon.

“Bringing everybody together is special,” said Francis Kelly, a member of the Satin Slipper New Year’s Brigade. “We are all family and friends down here. But on New Year’s Day, we don’t like each other. It’s very competitive.”

Wednesday’s competition will feature more than 10,000 participants.

It starts at 17th and Market streets and heads toward City Hall, before turning south down Broad Street to Washington Avenue.

“We’re actually the first performance of the morning, so we are like full of energy and ready to go,” said Molly Jozefowski, from the Golden Sunrise Nya.

For the Jozefowskis, this parade is a family affair.

“This has been my whole life,” said Ellie Jozefowski. “My father, brother, cousins and uncles were all with Shooting Stars. And when the kids were little, my brother said ‘Why don’t you try Golden Sunrise?'”

The family has now been part of Golden Sunrise for more than 30 years – passing down the tradition from one generation to another.

The Mummers Parade is also a family affair for the McGugans. On New Year’s Eve, Action News spoke with Jim McGugan the third, fourth and fifth.

Speaking about the Mummers, Jim McGugan IV said, “It’s all year-round. It’s not just one day for us. We’re more of a family than anything else.”

Next New Year’s Day, the youngest of the bunch will participate in the parade for the first time.

“I gave it up for a couple years now, but I want to do it with all three of them and have fun,” Jim McGugan V said.

The Mummers Parade kiced off at 9 a.m. Wednesday. City officials encourage spectators to ditch their cars and use public transportation to get to the parade route.

For more, visit our guide to the 2025 Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.