New Year's Day- and the Mummer's Parade

It's funny- if we were still living in New Orleans, or Austin even, we would make every effort to try new things, to participate in local events and things. But, since we're from this area, I don't feel like we're so eager to be a part of local happenings, since it's just what we're used to.

All this to say that, though we've both grown up in the area, neither Ezra or I (or our families) have ever been to the New Year's Day Mummer's Parade. And, this is totally something something we would have been a part of, had it been in any other city we've lived in! I mean, we sought out the prison-rodeo in Louisiana, and the Strawberry Festival while we were there, yet we'd never seen the Mummers!

There's no really good way, either, to describe what a "mummer" is, and the videos on YouTube are pretty disappointing. The best I can say is that the parade is immense, full of costumes, strings bands, and lasts just about all day. There are four separate divisions of mummers- comics, fancy,...and, some more that I can't recall. (This is our first year, after all, of being slightly involved!) Those in the fancy division compete for a huge prize each year, too. The beginning of the parade, though, actually reminded me a lot of Mardi Gras, because the costumes aren't terribly elaborate (as they are at the end), and they hand out beads. Also, the music- brass bands- couldn't be any more New Orleans, either!

Anyway, the parade route was only two blocks away, so despite the 20-degree day, we headed out to watch the parade. We got there a bit early, so we only caught the comics (read: lots of drunk guys dressed in shiny/frilly costumes parading).

Here's a picture with some of the comics, to give you a good idea:



Ezra's sister Keturah and his brother Simeon...and some pirates:



A frozen Eve checking things out:



Her pile of loot following the parade- everyone always gives beads to babies!



This (terrible and short) video sort of gives you the idea of the parade. It was a lot of fun...just wish it hadn't been so cold!