Younger generation excited to continue Mummers Parade tradition
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The countdown to 2023 is on and the Mummers are getting ready for their New Year's Day parade. It's the calm before the storm on Thursday along Two Street, where the barriers have already been dropped off ahead of Sunday's parade.
For many, the Mummers are a tradition - and CBS3 had a chance to speak with the next generation of fans and performers.
"Miss Madalyn won a contest at school and she is being honored by the Mummers," Michael Boone said.
Madalyn Boone, 6, was all smiles as she took in the sights of the Mummer's Museum Thursday afternoon.
The first grader is one of several local students being honored for their artwork – recreating the colorful costumes and showstopping struts that have been delighting fans for more than 100 years.
"I'm actually a mummer this year and I thought, why don't I do my costume?" Brayden Dauber said.
Dauber, 8, is a rookie member of Bill McIntyre's Shooting Stars Brigade and drew his costume for the contest. The third grader also showed CBS3 some of the choreography he's been practicing for the fancy competition.
"It's my first year and if I win first prize, that will be amazing for me," Dauber said.
And while Dauber may be a novice, his family has a long history along Two Street, where the nation's longest-running folk parade began.
"A lot of the string bands, there's generations, brothers, sisters, fathers, sons," Gary Dydak, a former Aqua String band member, said.
Dydak, who is Dauber's grand pop, is a past president and 15 year veteran of the Aqua String Band. He says watching the next generation take center stage brings it all full circle.
"It makes it that it is going to continue and it must because it's a tradition here in Philadelphia," Dydek said. "We have to make sure it remains here."