Mummers Museum

Mummers are about celebration, fun, and family.  They value tradition and community.  Mummers can be musical, satirical or even a little ridiculous, but they are always colorful. Mummers in Philadelphia are costumed citizens celebrating the New Year with family and friends.  They belong to clubs in one of 5 Divisions: The Comic, The Fancy, the Wench Brigade, the String Band and the Fancy Brigade Divisions.  In Philadelphia this has developed into the grandest of Mummers traditions, the annual Mummers Parade.  Ten thousand participants and hundreds of thousands of parade viewers take to the streets and sidewalks or view on television on New Year’s Day. The Mummers Museum opened in 1976 as part of Philadelphia’s celebration of America’s Bicentennial.  The Museum is dedicated to celebrating the tradition of Mummery in Philadelphia.  Inside are costumes, oral histories, video and audio archives and even an exhibit to teach anyone how to “strut.” The Museum is home to annual summer concerts and offers a gift shop to in person and online visitors. Parking is free in the Museum’s lot. There is also ample street parking.