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Like most traditions, the Mummers’ Parade has been passed down through generations for more than a century. Each new year brings about hundreds more sequined-and costumed people, young and old alike, strutting through themed routines on Broad Street all the way to judging areas at City Hall. Celebrating New Year’s Day with the Mummers has become synonymous with the city, just like cheesesteaks and the Liberty Bell.
"I think we are an important element to the city," Mummers’ Association Publicity Chairman George Badey said.
Despite the bitter cold last Thursday, people came out — albeit in smaller numbers than years’ past — to celebrate the onset of 2009 with the Fancies, String Bands and Comics and support Badey’s claim the parade is integral to the fabric of Philadelphia.
"Last year, when we got a few blocks from City Hall, it was packed and the crowd was going nuts," Joe Perri of the Murray Comic Club Jesters said. "This year, there weren’t a lot of people."
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Others noticed something different, too. Cacia Lee, who recently moved back to the area from Seattle with husband Paul, remembers what she saw as a young girl — the feeling for her is the same, but she noticed the amount of onlookers has changed.
"I grew up here, so all my life, I’ve come to the Mummers’ Parade. This is like a big thing," the 31-year-old said. "There’s definitely a lot less people than in the past, which is really sad."
The Lees, of Broad and Wolf streets, partially credit the attendance to the weather — Jan. 1 was the coldest New Year’s Day in 11 years — as well as the change in the parade route and, due to the Nov. 6 announcement of the mayor’s budget cuts that removed funds from the parade before supplying $300,000 but no prize money, uncertainty of whether there would even be one at all.
"A lot of the people we are friends with were like, ‘well, they’re not performing as close’ and ‘they’ve seen it before’ and things like that," husband Paul said. "You would think you would see more people than this in the different areas, so I’m a little surprised about that."
In years past, in Center City and at most performance spots, people wouldn’t have been able to walk because of the crunched-in masses.
"It’s light because the City publicized it’s only six hours of parade and everybody watched it on TV instead," Teddy, who did not give his last name, said of the ’09 spectacle. The Murray Comic Club member added the area around City Hall was a pitiful sight.
Shortened to just six-and-a-half-hours from its traditional eight, the exterior showcases were finished before 5 p.m. to save money, as anything over $300,000 was to be paid by the Mummers organization. The recent budgetary constraints brought out a slew of private donors: Geno’s Steaks, Verizon, the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund and Forman Mills, and many more who visited the Web site savethemummers.com.
But Stephanie Clark, formerly of 13th and Wolf streets, didn’t favor the abridged route.
"I’m glad it’s moving along, but it sucks. It’s losing everything," she said about the overall vibe of the day.
Clark also attributed the long breaks between performance areas as another reason for sparse spots along South Broad. The area outside Methodist Hospital, 2301 S. Broad, was packed, but just a few blocks north there were gaps in the crowd.
"It’s a shame because once they perform [at Methodist], they don’t perform again up until Washington Avenue, which is far," Clark, who came from her home in New Jersey to see the event, said. "It’s a big dull spot."
For the last 54 years, Clark has supported the Sultans of Strut. With the String Bands being her favorite, she always heads to the Two Street after-party every year.
"Look at the money they spend on costumes. They put out a lot of money, which they never get back, and now it’s even worse," she said. "They’re so stressed until they get up to City Hall and Second Street; it’s just a fun time down there for them."
Even though funding was naught for the traditional encore, that didn’t stop people and club members from celebrating there anyway. Perri, who’s been with Murray for the last two years, attended, but noted it wasn’t very crowded.
"There weren’t a lot of people down there at all. I couldn’t believe it," he said.
With the end of this year’s parade, Badey said he accepts the fact a smoother process is needed, but stressed it’s the people’s parade first and foremost.
"These are everyday, working people in our city who come out once a year to strut their stuff so we need to work it out a little better, but we do not want to stifle their creativity and the magic that the Mummers represent," he said.
One thing is certain, whether there’s one or 100,000 lining South Broad, very few want to see the ritual come to an end.
"I think it’s really neat, there’s nothing comparable to it anywhere else," Cacia Lee said. "It’s something I think everyone should see, but I hope they figure out a way to streamline it and not spend as much money."
