On January 1, 2026, the Mummers Parade runs down Broad Street from City Hall to Washington Avenue, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Clubs compete in divisions with judged stops near City Hall, so performances tighten up in that stretch.

The story behind the spectacle sits in craft and ritual: year-round rehearsals, hand-built costumes designed for movement in winter weather, and traditions that pull crowds back every New Year’s Day.

Highlights

Philadelphia On January 1: Where The Parade Takes Over

January 1 looks and moves differently in Philadelphia. Broad Street becomes the center of the city for most of the day, with large sections closed to regular traffic from early morning through evening.

Visitors should plan the day around the parade rather than trying to move through it.

Getting Around

• Broad Street closures usually begin before 7:00 a.m. between City Hall and Washington Avenue
• Center City side streets near the route face rolling closures and heavy congestion
• SEPTA runs on a holiday schedule, with subway service often the fastest way to reach viewing areas
• Ride share drop-offs work best several blocks away from Broad Street

Walking remains the most reliable option once the parade starts.

Where To Go As A Visitor

City Hall delivers the most structured viewing, with judged performances and longer stops.

South Broad Street offers a looser street atmosphere, more movement, and shorter performance pauses.

Washington Avenue marks the parade’s winding down, with fewer crowds and less density.

What To Expect On The Street

• Large crowds, especially mid-morning through early afternoon
• Confetti on sidewalks, coats, hair, shoes, and bags
• Long gaps between groups followed by intense bursts of sound and movement
• Cold weather combined with long periods of standing

Also, keep in mind that the traffic around New Year’s Eve will be quite chaotic. Therefore, pay attention when crossing the street. In case of an accident, you can contact the pedestrian injury lawyer in Philadelphia.

Safety And Practical Advice

• Follow police and volunteer instructions near barricades
• Keep bags zipped and phones secured in dense areas
• Pick a meeting point in advance if attending with a group
• Public restrooms remain limited, plan stops early

How The Mummers Parade Started And Why It Still Matters?

Philadelphia mummery started as street performance during the winter holidays: neighbors in costume, music in the cold, a little theater mixed with bravado.

Over time, the city formalized the tradition into an organized New Year Day parade, with clubs, divisions, judges, and a route that turned Broad Street into the main stage.

A modern spectator sees the polished version, yet the older DNA stays visible:

• Masking and transformation: costumes let performers become characters, then exaggerate them
• Neighborhood club life: many groups operate year round, raising funds, rehearsing, building props, and storing gear
• Competition pressure: judging pushes clubs toward bigger themes, tighter staging, and smarter costume engineering
• Local storytelling: comics and themes often lean into Philadelphia life, sports, politics, pop culture, and local grudges that somehow become comedy

A large part of the city spends months building a single day that disappears by nightfall.

That sounds impractical until you watch the results: handmade spectacle, live music, and a social tradition that keeps pulling new members in, even as the city changes around it.

How The Competition Works? Divisions, Judging, And Performance Stops

The Mummers Parade runs as a judged competition first and a procession second.

Each club enters a specific division, follows a performance schedule, and gets scored by judges posted near City Hall.

Divisions

• Comics: scripted skits, satire, topical humor, visual jokes
• Wench Brigades: coordinated street performance with music, umbrellas, and crowd interaction
• Fancies: dance focused presentation with large costumes and themed staging
• String Bands: live music plus choreographed movement, heavy emphasis on sound and timing
• Fancy Brigades: full theatrical shows with scenery, props, and set changes, later repeated indoors

Each division follows its own rulebook.

A string band gets judged differently than a comic brigade, even if both stop at the same performance area.

Judging And Performance Flow

Most clubs march in sequence, then stop near City Hall for a formal performance.

Judges evaluate a mix of elements:

• Theme clarity
• Execution and timing
• Music quality, where applicable
• Costume design and movement
• Overall effect

After City Hall, groups continue south, often performing looser versions for the crowd.

Costumes Up Close: Materials, Build Process, And Design Tricks

Costumes do the heavy lifting on Broad Street.

A group can be half a block away, and the message still lands: towering feathers, hard sparkle, and a theme that reads fast, even for a first-time visitor.

What Shows Up Every Year

• Feather backpieces in Fancy and Fancy Brigade units, built for maximum height and width
• Sequin suits in most divisions, designed to catch winter daylight and phone cameras
• A unified club look, then a handful of feature performers wearing the biggest builds
• Comics costumes built around a gag, with props doing the punchline work
• Wench Brigade looks lean and coordinated, with umbrellas and crowd play

The Sound And The Move: String Bands, Choreography, And The Strut

String Bands pull the crowd back in when attention starts to drift. Sound reaches you first, then the group swings into view, and Broad Street changes mood in seconds.

Banjos lead, brass pushes air behind them, drums keep the whole thing moving, and glockenspiels cut through everything like a bright alarm you actually enjoy.

Costuming remains coordinated so the band appears as a single unit from a distance, then a few performers step forward with larger headpieces and added shine to underscore the theme.

Recent years lean toward themes that catch on quickly on a moving street: holiday twists, postcard travel ideas, stage show glamour, and fantasy characters. Street time stays short, so clarity wins.

City Hall brings the most focused stop. Groups slow down, spacing tightens, and the strut lands in a way that makes phones come out without anyone talking about it.

South of that stretch, the band keeps rolling, the crowd thins a bit, and the music carries the moment forward.

Traditions Beyond The Route: Confetti, Clubhouses, And The Indoor Finale

A lot of the day happens in the blocks around the route and later indoors.

Confetti And Cleanup

Confetti gets thrown constantly. By late morning, it covers sidewalks and collects along curbs.

When the air stays damp, or temperatures hover near freezing, that layer can get slick in spots, so shoes with tread help.

Confetti also ends up in coats, bags, and hair, so expect to brush it off for days.

South Philly Club Areas

After groups finish their parade run, many participants head back toward South Philadelphia, where a lot of clubs are based.

People gather outside clubhouses and nearby bars. Music becomes informal, costumes stay on longer, and the mood shifts from performance to hanging out.

Tourists who want a fuller view of the tradition usually spend part of the afternoon south of the formal route rather than leaving right after City Hall.

The Indoor Finale

Fancy Brigades also perform a ticketed show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on January 1.

The same costumes and themes show up with stage lighting and scenery, which makes details easier to see.

It also solves two common parade problems: cold weather and crowd density.

Bottom Line

City Hall shows the parade at its clearest. Groups stop, perform, then move on, so the effort and the competition show up right in front of you.

South Broad Street feels looser and more continuous, with shorter stops and more walking pace energy.

The Fancy Brigade Finale trades the street grind for a seat, stage lighting, and a better view of costumes and staging.