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New Year’s Day in Philadelphia began as it has for the past 125 years, with the Mummers Parade kicking off outside of City Hall this morning.

This day, though, was frigid, and windy conditions suspended the string band competition until further notice.

That didn’t deter the spectators and marchers — much.

Spectators Kris Hines and Melanie Thompson were the first two seated outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where they had stayed the night before, waiting for the parade’s start. They said the cold kept them indoors an extra half-hour.

“They told us we need to get out here at 6,” Thompson said. “We looked down and were like, ‘We could probably wait a little bit.’”

Thompson had traveled from St. Louis to visit childhood friend Hines, who moved to Upper Chichester in March, and watch a friend play in the South Philadelphia String Band. It was the first time taking in the Mummers parade live for both.

“I just expect to be amazed,” Hines said. “I’ve seen a few videos and I just think it’s going to be incredible.”

Their plans took a hit shortly before 11 a.m., when the String Band Association and the parade announced that freezing temperatures, 30 mph wind and resulting wind damage during setup led them to postpone the competition.

“In the spirit of celebrating New Year’s Day and this important milestone for our city and nation, the String Bands will all still march in full costume and make-up and perform for TV, internet and live audiences on Broad Street and City Hall,” the announcement said. “They will march without props. Times and order will remain the same.”

Before the string bands, the Fancy, Wench Brigades and Comic divisions kicked off the parade proceedings in front of City Hall, beginning with Golden Sunrise N.Y.A, the last Fancy left in its division.

Golden Sunrise member Jennifer Hensel paid tribute to America’s 250th birthday year with her parade costume: dressed as the Statue of Liberty, pulling along a giant presidential seal.

Every parade costume submission and club theme is submitted for approval from club leaders and the city, to avoid duplication and inappropriate content. Mummers Museum curator Mark Montanero said that this year, most clubs expected others to go with a patriotic theme, which led to very few actually doing so.

“I’m kind of glad I’m one of only two [patriotic] suits,” Hensel said. “I’m going for 250 because, as a tour guide, this is such a pivotal moment beyond whatever people’s politics or beliefs are. It’s our country’s 250. Good, bad, everything in between.”

Hensel said that the presidential seal “topper” had been in the club since the 1960s, and she felt compelled to include it.

“Every process, every seam that I sewed, I felt like I was Betsy Ross,” she recalled.

A long history of ‘mumming along’

Philadelphia’s tradition of mummery goes back much farther than the 125 years of the New Year’s Day parade, which recently was named the best holiday parade in the country by USA Today. In fact, it dates back over 350 years, according to Montanaro. The pageantry traces its roots to the city’s 19th-century immigrant communities, including Swedish, Irish, German and English arrivals.

Over time, controversies surrounding cultural insensitivity, cultural appropriation and racist attire and actions in costumes and performances have also occurred. In recent years, groups like Golden Sunrise have invited and included more of Philadelphia’s diverse communities and backgrounds in the Broad Street festivities.

This year, the fancy’s new collaborators were members of the Philadelphia Chinese Community Organizations United, Mexican dancers from Danza Tonantzin and “Philly Elmo” and the Positive Movement Entertainment Drumline.

Philly Elmo has been at previous Mummers celebrations, but only at the parades and parties on 2nd Street – or “Two Street,” as it’s known. This year was the first time they performed in front of City Hall, before cameras that broadcast the parade to 95 countries around the world.

“Since 2012, we’ve just been like popping up to the Mummers and trying to get in where we fit in … but to actually be involved and being welcome to the club is just truly amazing and I’m so grateful,” said Tony Royster, PME’s founder.

The director of Danza Tonantzin, Pamela Plata, said that she was happy and proud to see her dancers performing, but also emotional because of the extraordinary pressures that Mexican communities across America have faced. In April, Philly’s 2025 Carnaval de Puebla was canceled over concerns that ICE operations would impact the event, which deprived the dance group of its regular opportunity to perform in front of tens of thousands of people.

“It’s very important for us to send a message to our community that there is inclusion, we are part of this big celebration,” said Plata’s interpreter and Carnaval de Puebla committee member Olga Renteria.

“We are thrilled to have them and them as well. Being South Philly-based, it’s a partnership that just seems extremely natural,” said Jesa Stiglich, Golden Sunrise’s first-ever female president.

“We’re also very proud to be a club that is known for diversity, inclusion and being welcoming,” she added. “Being a place where people are comfortable walking up and saying, ‘Hey, can we join?’ And we say, ‘Absolutely.’ The Mummers Parade as a whole is becoming more and more inclusive, and we are glad to be able to be on the forefront of that.”