The Mummers Came — and Not Without Controversy

Some participants in the 2024 Philadelphia Mummers Parade (photo courtesy of 6 ABC)

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The Mummers Came — and Not Without Controversy

Thousands of folks turned out in droves for this year’s Mummers Parade on Monday, while others tuned in to the televised and streamed version, hosted by husband-and-wife broadcasting team Larry Mendte and Dawn Stensland. (If you’re scratching your head thinking those names sound familiar, this could be why.)

This year’s Mummers Parade didn’t get too crazy in terms of Mummers controversies.

Oh, there was a brief fracas over a pro-Donald Trump flag, wherein some folks on the side of the parade tried to grab the Trump flag from the Mummers. Pushing and shoving ensued. It’s a little unclear whether the folks grabbing the flag wanted to hang it outside their own house or were grabbing it in protest. Noted Norristown MAGA man and “king of fake news” Jack Posobiec summed it up like so: “Liberal tries to steal Trump flag from Philadelphia Mummer at New Years Parade, gets punched in the face,” somehow managing to avoid the use of “snowflake” or “woke.” Goals, Jack.

I also heard some minor rumblings about tribal adornments and makeup worn in one Mummers performance, titled “Jungle Exotica.” It turns out the person sporting said adornments and makeup in that routine was none other than WMMR DJ Jacky BamBam, who has become a fixture of the Mummers Parade over the years. There was also some Native American garb in another act.

Photos and videos dutifully documented Mummers passed out and urinating on the street.

In other words, a pretty par-for-the-course Mummers Parade, minus any blackface or alleged blackface that turned out to be a Black man or similar-level controversy that would dominate the news cycle for hours.

I did have a good laugh at Mendte, who went on and on a couple of times about how amazingly diverse the Mummers Parade has become. Not sure what parade he was looking at.

Cherelle Parker Sworn In as Mayor

According to multiple reports citing anonymous sources, Cherelle Parker was privately sworn in as mayor shortly after midnight on January 1st. Why would she do such a thing privately? Well, the law says the new mayor is to be sworn in on the first Monday of January. This year, the first Monday of January happened to fall on New Year’s Day. And what happens on New Year’s Day in Philadelphia? Yep. The Mummers Parade. Parker decided to delay her official inauguration until Tuesday so as not to conflict with the parade. But somebody needed to be in charge, hence the private ceremony. The public inauguration was on the books for this morning.

Local Talent

I had the privilege of attending one of the final showings of Fat Ham at the Wilma on Saturday. Fat Ham is, of course, the Pulitzer-winning play by South Philly playwright James Ijames. The show saw its Broadway debut this year before heading down to Broad Street. Though Fat Ham at the Wilma has closed, there’s actually an excellent digital version you can stream. And this isn’t just some camera shooting the stage. It’s more of a film than anything else, produced at the height of COVID, before Ijames could present Fat Ham to an in-person audience. Check it out.

Pride of Overbrook High Colman Domingo (sorry, Will Smith) has so much buzz around him these days. He’s in the new musical version of The Color Purple. And there’s Oscar buzz galore about his astounding performance in Rustin. But Domingo recently talked about one role he didn’t get: a spot in the HBO hit series Boardwalk Empire. And why was he rejected? His skin was too dark. Some other Colman Domingo trivia for you: Domingo and Ijames are BFFs.

By the Numbers

703: Days since Philadelphia received an inch or more of snow. But this headline just popped up on CBS 3: “Significant winter storm system possibly coming to town this weekend.” I’ll believe it when I see it.

$23,000: Cost of the ATW (all-terrain wheelchair) set to debut in Wharton State Forest later this year, so people with mobility impairments can experience the joys of mosquito bites and ticks, too.

$9.3 million: Debts claimed by once-hot local craft brewery Flying Fish in its bankruptcy filing. With only $1.3 million in assets, including all brewing equipment and office furniture, that’s not good. And it’s not just Flying Fish. Some analysts have wondered lately if the whole craft beer bubble is going to burst.

And from the Sports Desk …

It’s a brand-new year, so what’s the point in dwelling on the past, right? On, say, the Eagles falling to the lowly Cardinals IN OUR HOUSE despite a sterling Sydney Brown first-half interception?

99 YARDS TO THE CRIB @Sydbrown___ !! pic.twitter.com/qMP0nvrSZ5

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 31, 2023

The completely crappy-ass loss did give our city the chance to anoint a new champion:

What she said. @BDJohnson3 pic.twitter.com/GEiAjoqf1y

— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) December 31, 2023

And why dwell on the Sixers going a mediocre 2-2 in four Joel Embiid-less games, including Saturday’s loss to the dreadful Chicago Bulls? It’s an annus novus, and the Sixers return home tonight for a 7 p.m. Bulls rematch. Will Embiid be back? Most likely. God, we hope so.

Any College Hoops News?

Just a bit. The Drexel Dragons shanghaied the Hampton Pirates yesterday, 99-65. Tonight, the Penn Quakers travel to take on Auburn, with tip-off at 9 p.m. Happy New Year!

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingson.