Moment of Clairification

OK. So I know it’s lame to post something about New Year’s a couple weeks late, but the important thing is how awesome my New Years was, right?

OK. So I’ll start with the Mummers’ Parade (the men in skirts), and I’ll keep this quick.

10 a.m… Thousands-o-men in fancy little silky dresses of all colors with mini-Mary-Poppins umbrellas… Check. Elaborate brigades of costumes and floats… Check. The porto-potty-equipped buses and trailers to carry all their wasted asses to Two Street after the parade… CHECK.

What’s crazy about the whole thing is that the most manly of beer-chugging Irish and Italian men are who make up (IN makeup) the parade… but it almost seems somewhat of an excuse for them to dress in drag. Just sayin’…. The parade’s beginnings date as far back at the 1800s but women weren’t allowed in the parade until the 1970s. Not to mention that there is an entire troupe of the parade called the “wenches” … and it has historically been performed by men in drag. Not even kidding.

These men were carrying out tradition while setting the example (most had kiddos in tow) and they were doing so by wearing skirts while pounding beers and sucking cigars. I’ve never really seen anything like it.

Most of these men are competing for nearly $400,000 in prizes, but the costs involved with putting on the show far outweigh the recognititon. They most often hold “beef and beer” fundraisers or perform in the 4th of July “Show of shows” parade in Atlantic City to raise dough.

And to touch on the “two street” thang I mentioned earlier… Basically, all the wasted mummers head down to South 2nd Street (Two Street) after the parade and continue the party. They pack clubhouses and bars, serenade the sidewalks, have dance parties in the streets and decorate trees with beer cans. It’s a riot, no less.

More sinful than a bowl of cheese.