Of Mummers and Muppets

Began the first day of 2026 with stories from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays. My favorite is the charming tale of a group of kids in a small town who ring the church bell for an elderly neighbor to celebrate the New Year. "A Disastrous New Year" from Hitty: Her First Hundred Years depicts how wooden doll Hitty was stolen on New Year's Day by a group of New York street toughs who attacked her child owner. "Dobry's New Year" focuses on Bulgarian New Year's customs, including reading the buds on a dram bush to see how your year will go. There's also several poems on New Year's festivities and changes in the New Year.

I thought I was running late when I ate a quick breakfast and waited for Jessa outside just after 10 AM. She didn't turn up until past 10:30 with her boyfriend Mike. He's a cheerful fellow, a bit on the chatty side. To my surprise, it snowed a little bit last night, enough that the ground was frosted white like a New Year's cake. Unfortunately, while the roads in Oaklyn had been cleared, the ones in Collingswood had not. Jessa skidded a few times before she finally pulled into the PATCO parking lot. 

We took a barely-full PATCO into Philly and made it to Broad Street by 11:30. It was a beautiful, if fridgid, day for a parade. The sky was a full-bodied, brilliant blue that almost hurt to look at, without a cloud in it. The wind, however, remained icy and so strong, some of the fancier string bands had to leave behind their props. It didn't dampen anyone's spirits. The Mummers strutted just as wildly as ever, and the crowds were even more enthusiastic, cheering, dancing along, and calling out the Eagles victory cheer.

The first group I saw as we made our way through the crowds were one of the Wench Brigades, this one wearing candy-print outfits and pulling a small "gingerbread house." The next group in red and blue were pirates, complete with a huge wooden "ship." Another had black and white outfits with an eye test print of large and small letters. Freddy Kruger wenches had red and green striped dress outfits, wore green tinsel garlands and Freddy's hat, and had clawed gloves. There were at least two Revolutionary War wench brigades in honor of America's 250th anniversary this year. A local used car dealership tossed its bear mascot in with characters representing Philly sports mascots and the Liberty Bell. Magician wenches wore red, black, and white and sported cards and long scarves. A yellow and black wench group were bees pulling cardboard hives.

I loved the comic Toy Story group, with a dad and mom Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a male Little Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, teen aliens, and the most adorable kid Trixie and Rex. A group of animals included eagles "soaring" on roller blades who got quite a reaction from the crowd! The first fancy brigade had a garden theme, with massive pink and green flowers and enormous Venus fly traps fluttering in the wind. The next was an amusement park. There were kids dressed as a roller coaster, a ticket booth, and even a giant ice cream swirl cone. Guys and girls twirled in fluffy cotton candy dresses. 

During a gap in the program, I got cold and bored standing there and headed down Broad Street to see what else was there. The wind and cold had scared off many people. There weren't quite as many people watching the parade live as there usually is. It was still fun to watch all of the drunk college kids screaming and (trying to) dance and the kids handing their parents beads while their parents taught them the Mummers Strut.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts further up Broad Street near the Sprouts Market and the Philadelphia High School for the Performing and Creative Arts. Though it was busy inside, the line surprisingly wasn't long. I made use of those gift cards from the kids to get a medium hot chocolate and a blueberry donut. There wasn't as much going on down by the school, so after I finished my donut, I followed the crowds back to Locust Street.

We finally decided by quarter of 12 that we'd seen enough and were too cold to stick around for the rest of the fancy groups. We took a largely empty PATCO (except for one really loud and drunk guy in a pink bunny outfit who thankfully got off at Broadway in Camden) back to Collingswood, getting in by just after 1. 

I usually have my first meal out of the year at the Westmont Diner. With the Westmont Diner still under renovations, I suggested the Haddon Diner on the border of Westmont and Haddonfield instead. Jessa had a hard time parking in the tiny, full lot, but they weren't that busy when we got in. The Haddon Diner is a lovely little spot with hand-stenciled wooden booths and reasonable prices. Mike had a huge chicken wrap. Jessa's turkey club sandwich was so big, she could only finish half of it. She and Mike both had chicken soup. Mike ordered mozzarella sticks and chicken quesadillas with curly fries. I had apple-raisin pancakes that were smaller, more moist, and more manageable than the ones at the Silver Diner on Tuesday, along with bacon and hot tea. Everything was so tasty, and the other two seemed to really enjoy theirs.

After they dropped me off at home, I went straight into Holiday Inn. I went further into this classic 1942 musical that introduced "White Christmas," "Happy Holiday," and "Let's Start the New Year Right" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back on New Year's Day 2019.

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Moved on to Sesame Street Stays Up Late after the movie ended. I also go further into this charming special on how different cultures celebrate the New Year at my musical review blog.

Happy New Year! - Sesame Street Stays Up Late 

Switched to the Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party marathon after dinner and a shower. The first episode of 1974 began with the arrival of Dorothy Zinni, an overly enthusiastic contestant who was so excited, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her and scared the panelists to death. Even Richard was too terrified of her to kiss her! Richard's girlfriend Jodie proved to be far more palatable for him in 1976. Dick Martin kicked off 1976 by getting an answer right for the first time. Fannie Flagg enjoyed sitting in Brett's seat while she was out doing a play on the first day of 1978. Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Jon "Bowser" Bauman played with rubber chains on the first episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had permanently taken over Richard's spot by 1981.

Dick Martin carried over to The Match Game-Hollywood Square Hour's first episode of 1984. Alison Arngrin showed off her stylish black dress and hat, Vic Dunlop dodged fat jokes, Arsenio Hall tossed out quips, and we have a young David Ruprecht when he was hosting Real People. Brad Garrett continued to imitate the on-vacation Charles Nelson Reilly on the first Match Game episode of 1991. Bruce Baum showed he could do more than create goofy and slightly disturbing "inventions" by actually doing pretty darn well at Match Up. 

Party on in the new year with Match Game in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game New Year's Celebration Party

Wait, there's more! We also have bonus episodes of Family Feud, Password Plus, Super Password, and a repeat of the Match Game '77 New Year's Eve episode. It's more bang for your game show buck in the New Year!

Family Feud (1980)

Family Feud (1980)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1981)

Super Password (1987)

Finished the night working on the Sesame Street review while listening to My Favorite Things. John Coltrane digs into songs by three masters of American standards, starting with the Rodgers and Hammerstein title song. There's two gorgeous renditions of Gershwin brothers numbers, "But Not for Me" and "Summertime," and a darker Cole Porter "Every Time We Say Goodbye." 

Mummers and Matches

I awoke...to realize I overslept. I finally got out the door at 10, and I'd wanted to be heading to Philadelphia by at least nine. Grabbed yogurt, a granola bar, and grapes, and rushed out the door on the bike.

Fortunately, it takes less than 5 minutes to get to Collingswood on my bike. The PATCO was busy, but it wasn't so full that I couldn't get a seat. Followed a family and got one in the front. The stations were busier. I just followed the crowd until I got up to 13th Street, which is two blocks from the parade route on Broad Street.

I arrived just in time for the "comic" wench brigades. They're the ones in the ruffly dresses and caps in weird prints. As I walked up and down Broad Street, from Doubletree up to the Philadelphia High School for the Performing Arts, I saw one group with a cow theme in white and black prints with red trim. The one before them were construction workers in orange with neon yellow trim and gray reflector fabric on the waists. There was a Barbie-themed group in pink, blue, and orange, with some guys walking down Broad Street in pink "boxes." 

An alien group wore silver and blue and sported sparkly feelers and green makeup. Another group had outfits in every color of the rainbow. There was a Toy Story group with a mom as Bo Peep, dad as Woody, and kids as Jesse, Buzz, and in an inflatable dinosaur costume, a Mario group with red and green Mario and Luigis, and scarecrows in yellow, white, and green with straw-trimmed hats. I loved the Route 66 group in map-printed outfits with red and blue trim.

The crowds were nearly as crazy. Big families pushing huge strollers pushed between drunk college students who got up on ledges to yell out in the crowd. I saw people walking dogs of every size and shape. They ranged from a beautiful white Samoyed who just watched the crowd to a frisky King's spaniel who barked at everything.

The weather cooperated for the parade, too. While not warm like it was this time last year, it wasn't freezing, either. It was probably in the mid-40's, perfectly normal for early January. The sun was out when I was there, and there was no wind, but there were clouds on the horizon even as I started back down 13th Street to the PATCO entrance. The only other people waiting with me were a group of college kids who were probably on their way back to Rutgers. By the time I got off at Collingswood, the sun was disappearing again.

Cut through Collingswood to the Westmont Diner for brunch. When I ate there last month, they gave me a green envelope that was only to be opened in front of my server between January 1st and 31st. Enjoyed super-soft pumpkin pancakes with dried cranberries mixed in. When my waitress brought the check, I opened it to reveal a coupon for a free dessert or appetizer. I knew what I wanted. While I waited 20 minutes for a booth to be ready, I got to admire the cakes and pastries in the display as you come in. I wanted to try the long Napoleon cake with the white and chocolate trimmed icing.

Went straight home after that. My wrist and big toe are still sore, and riding around on the bike and running around in Philly didn't help. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting, doing the laundry, and watching the Universal adventure movie Arabian Nights. The dancing girl Scheherazade (Maria Montez) is convinced she's to marry a caliph and become a queen. She thinks it'll be Kamar (Leif Erikson), who has taken over the throne in the absence of his brother Haroun (Jon Hall). Haroun was attacked by Kamar's men and left for dead. He was taken in by acrobat Ali Ben Ali (Sabu) and the troupe of actors Scherazade works for. 

The Grand Vizier Nadan (Edgar Barrier) wants both brothers out of the way. He orders his captain of the guards (Turhan Bey) to sell the entire group into slavery. Even after the troupe manages to escape, they still end up in Kamar's clutches. Kamar forces Scheherazade to marry him, but Ali knows he's not the brother she wants. It'll take a final rallying of the people and a fight to the death between brothers to finally put Haroun back on his rightful throne.

Delightful bit of blarney is the second of four films to pair up Montez, Hall, and Sabu. We also have Billy Gilbert as the head of the troupe and Shemp Howard as the least-likely Sinbad the Sailor ever onscreen. To tell the truth, this doesn't have much to do with the actual Arabian Nights stories, but that doesn't make it any less fun. Gorgeous production (this was Universal's first movie in three-strip Technicolor) definitely helps. Well worth your time if you love Arabic swashbucklers or fantasies or the three stars.

Switched to writing after getting the laundry in the dryer. The lion who attacks the group is small, plump, and has a very curly mane. Joyce recognizes him as comedian Avery Schreiber, and she's right. She's also right that he won't hurt them. He's a coward who can't bring himself to harm any living creature.

Watched New Year's game show episodes while eating dinner. New Year's goes back a long way on game shows. What's My Line celebrated their very first New Year's episode in 1950 by having none other than Guy Lombardo as a Mystery Guest to discuss his annual concert in New York to kick off the New Year.

One of the very few episodes of the second run of the Alex Trebek High Rollers still in existence is its New Year's 1979 show. Alex dons a snazzy tux, while the models wear fancy gowns. A twinkly-eyed older woman did manage to win a big prize package, but she still lost to a younger woman who got a beautiful brown fur coat. 

Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy also dressed up for New Year's Eve 1984 on Press Your Luck. Whammies performing New Year's concerts flew fast and furious, particularly in the second round. In the end, the champ not only picked up a car and cash, he became one of the show's top winners at that point.

Monty Hall's New Year's Eve on Beat the Clock is even more frantic. Character actors Louis Nye and Ellen Travolta played comedian Jack Carter and soap star Eileen Barnett. In the end, after the entire group has used noisemakers to blow balloons into a crib and poured enough champagne to cascade over a stack of glasses, Barnett and Carter came out victorious, making twice as much money as the other two.

Children and families get on the games in the Bob Eubanks Card Sharks and Ray Combs Family Feud. The 1986 Card Sharks had their Young People's Week during the days between Christmas and New Year's. In 1990, Ray and the families celebrated the new decade with silvery poinsettias, balloons dropping in the end, and questions about what people do every New Year's Day.

Drew Carey and his Price Is Right models ended the 2000's by giving away some of the most popular prizes ever, according to people who sent reminiscences on their website. Prizes ranged from a vintage yellow luxury sport car to a man's watch to the Grand Game. One of the Showcases showed off trips to cities with big New Year's celebrations. The other revolved around how and where people watch the Bowl games at home.

Ring in 2024 with these hilarious New Year's parties! (Warning that the copy of Card Sharks is in bad shape and has barely-audible audio.) 

What's My Line (1950)

High Rollers (1979)

Beat the Clock (1979)

Press Your Luck (1984)

Card Sharks (1986)

Family Feud (1990)

The Price Is Right (2009)

Finished the night with a marathon of the first episode to air every year during the Match Game 70's and 80's run. The first episode of 1974 introduced Dorothy, a wild contestant who got so excited answering questions, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her. A funny older man proved to have answers that were even odder on the first day of 1975. Fannie Flagg took over in Brett's seat while she did a play for the first week of 1977. Gene stumbled into New Year's Day 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Bowser brought rubber chains for the first syndicated episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had taken over Richard's seat by the time of the first 1981 show. 

Dick Martin stuck around for the first Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour show of 1984. He's joined by Nathan Cook, Arsenio Hall, Alison Arngrin, and a young David Ruprecht when he was a host for Real People. Vicki Lawrence does very well at the Match Up mini game during the first episode of 1991. 

No one celebrates the New Year like Match Game! Party on with these hilarious episodes. 

Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party - Ring in 2024

Doin' the Mummers' Strut

Started off 2010 with...noise. I awoke to the sounds of very loud string instruments blasting "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the VFW parking lot across the street. I know Mummers need to practice, but I'm sure the neighborhood LOVED hearing THAT at quarter of 9 in the morning.

Since I was up anyway, I got dressed and grabbed my bike for what's become a New Year's Day tradition for me. I've gone out to breakfast on New Year's Day for the past couple of years. It's something different to do on a holiday, since I'm not a party person and never eat breakfast out at any other time of the year.

This year, I took the bike a little further afield than usual. I rode over the train bridge into Audubon and down to the White Horse Pike to try the Legacy Diner. The Legacy was called the Colonial Diner when I first moved here in 2006, but it was remodeled and renamed shortly after. It's a really beautiful diner, with cool brown-and-rust wave-esque booths and really nice wooden seats and tables. The waitress was nice, too, and even apologized for not being prompt. (I understand - it's not easy to see someone dining alone.) It was busy but not full, and I got my waffles, tea, and ham quickly. The waffles were tasty, golden and soft; the ham was really nice and crispy. Tasted kind of like round bacon.

The first day of the year was really a nice one, something I appreciated after all the crazy weather we've had in the past few weeks. There was still a little bit of snow left when I got up this morning, but by the time I finished breakfast, it was in the 40s and almost all of it was gone. I had debated on and off whether to go to the Mummers' Parade, but I saw a little of it on the Legacy's TVs and thought it looked like fun. Besides, it would be something to do on a nice day I had no other plans for. I rode over to Collingswood and hopped a mostly-full PATCO train to 13th Street in Philadelphia, which let me off two blocks from the parade.

The Mummers' Parade is a Philadelphia tradition in which lavishly decorated local string bands and organizations strut their stuff...literally. Some have large floats and wear costumes related to whatever's cool this year. (I saw Star Wars and Jetsons-themed floats at the Legacy Diner.) Some are large groups dressed in ruffled and sequins and carrying cute little parasols. These guys dance, shake hands, give kids high-fives, and hand out colorful beads, like at Mardi Gras. The type most people are familiar with are the Fancy Groups, the ones wearing the costumes with tons of sequins and the huge feathers on their backs.

(My favorite "Fancy" Bridgade was the cute Eskimos with the rolling snow house. My favorites of the comic strutters were the enthusiastic orange-and-black Flyers-themed group and the jungle-animal-themed group that blasted "Hey Hey, We're the Monkees," among other animal-themed tunes.)

I walked up and down Broad Street, enjoying the carnival atmosphere. People chatted, laughed, danced, and waved at the performers. People pushed soft pretzels sold soft pretzels from grocery store carts. There were vendors for wacky fuzzy hats, huge "2010!" glasses, stuffed animals, plastic blow-up toys, New Year's hats, and more of the Mardi Gras beads. Feather Boas were so popular, they had their own vendors.

I finally ended up at the same Starbucks I went to on New Year's Day 2008, the last time I saw the parade. The Starbucks is in Philly's theater district, near the Merriam and the Wilma, among others. I pushed my way past the crowd, got a Caramel Spice Apple Cider, and pushed my way back out to gawk at the Fancy Brigades and the massive theaters. (Ten of the Ritz could probably fit in the Merriam alone.) The crowd by the theaters were really into it. At one point, one guy jumped out with the Fancy Brigades and broke into an amazing snake-like dance move!

I could have stayed longer if I wanted to, but my legs are still a bit sore from all the running around I did yesterday. I just ended up winding my way back through the crowd (getting stuck again by the massive knot of people at the entrance of the Double Tree Hotel) and over to 13th Street. I caught a somewhat full PATCO back to Collingswood.

(There was only one fly in the ointment today - the return of my allergies for the first time in weeks. I'm still sneezing and sniffling like crazy as I write this. I don't know where it came from - it was a gorgeous day today.)

Spent the rest of my first day of 2010 quietly working on various projects on the computer and online. I hope all of you spent your first day of the New Year doing something just as fun!

Mummers On Parade

2008 began with a bigger bang than I thought it would. Shortly after I posted last night's entry, I heard a big boom across Peter Creek from my apartment. Sure enough, as they did last year, my neighbors on Kendall Boulevard and down the street set off beautiful (but admittedly illegal in New Jersey) fireworks that lifted my spirits a bit. The display was well-done for amateurs, and I enjoyed it more than the bigger Fourth of July display in some ways. (For one thing, it was a lot drier than last Fourth of July.)

I went to bed after that so I could get up early for the Mummers' Parade and to go out to breakfast. I awoke to a steady rain shower - not a good sign. Still I finished Hairspray and headed out under an umbrella to find the restaurant my sister Rose recommended for breakfast, then realized it was probably in Haddon Heights - too far to walk in the weather - and after an hour of searching, wound up at the Newton Diner on the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn. I had a waffle with hot apple topping and whipped cream, and in deference to the holiday, ham. One of my customers said last night that it's good luck to eat pork on New Year's.

By the time I got out of breakfast (which was quite good), the rain was gone and the clouds were vanishing, though it was quite windy and growing colder. I made a brief stop at Dad and Uncle Ken's to say "hi" before returning my umbrella, hopping on my bike, and heading into Philadelphia for the Mummers' Parade.

This was a really big deal for me, the first major city parade I've ever seen up close. After a slightly scary moment on the PATCO Speedline train (some idiot brought liquor on the car when there were cops around) and a confusing one when I realized I was going where the new paper ticket entrances were instead of heading for the old plastic ticket entrances, I realized I had an advantage over the crowds of families and college students coming into the city from the New Jersey suburbs. I had some idea of where I was going. I ducked away from the masses and headed for the 12th and Locust Street exit, which dropped me a block and a half away from the parade.

The Mummers' Parade in Philadelphia is something else. I walked straight into something of a cross between Mardi Gras' and Cape May's Halloween Parade. As it turned out, I didn't miss nearly as much of the parade as I thought. The rain had delayed the parade for more than three hours, so I got to see it from almost the beginning. I really loved what I saw. Mummers are local string bands and clubs who dress in amazing costumes covered with ruffles, beads, feathers, sequins, and tulle, carry cute little parasols, and strut and dance (or lightsaber duel) from South Philly to City Hall. (I actually saw the end of the parade route on Broad Street, between the Avenue of the Arts and the Borders across from City Hall.)

Naturally, my favorites were the "fancy" floats with the well-recreated Star Wars and Hairspray themes, but there were some cute string bands and comic bands, too. (The decidedly non-PC cavalry-and-Indians group I encountered when I first hit Broad Street was particularly amusing, and I also liked the Shrek comics.) I spent three hours walking up and down Broad Street, watching the parade from various vantage points and enjoying my ability to wedge into small spaces as one of the few people in Philadelphia watching the parade alone.

The crowd was just as much fun. Mummers threw beads to screaming, horn-blowing, incredibly sloshed college students. They patted kids' heads and shook their parents' hands. Despite many people probably having been there since the parade's original 8:50 starting time, everyone was in high spirits. (Some of the college kids too much so.) Vendors sold stuffed animals on "leashes," plastic inflatable toys, balloons, wacky fuzzy hats, New Year's top hats and tiaras, feather boas, and long, very noisy plastic horns. There were booths for funnel cake and hot dogs near FYE, and people with carts sold huge pretzels big enough to feed three starving third world nations for a month. I didn't buy anything, but it added to the carnival atmosphere.

By 2:30, though, the parade seemed to be winding down a little. I'd made my way down Broad Street to what's known as the Avenue of the Arts, the section of Broad Street where most of the theaters are. The crowds were thinner here, and there was a nice, cool gust of wind that felt great after the crush of people by Borders. I ducked into a Starbucks for a Peppermint Hot Chocolate and slice of Lemon Pound Cake I didn't finish (I was more cold than hungry) and hit it just right. Even as I sat down with my treats, the line increased to the point where, by the time I left, it was almost out the door.

The parade was continuing, but it was less interesting to me at that point, mostly string bands who were beginning to look and sound alike. Besides, the wind chill was making it seem a lot colder than it probably was, and my feet were freezing. I went right back to the same PATCO ramp on 12th and Locust and went home that way. I rode back to my house from Collingswood and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out online and eating a simple dinner of pork chops, spinach salad, and wheat noodles.

Here's the link to the main Mummers' site, which can tell you a lot more about the parade than I can: http://www.phillymummers.com/

I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's and have a safe and happy 2008!