by HEATHER JOHNSON
Mummers
The Word
Take it to the streets for a most
extravagant parade
While the rest of the world sleeps off the previous night’s revels, 10,000 energetic Phila-delphians take to the street on New Year’s Day
to march in the annual Mummers Day Parade.
Begun in 1901, the parade is presented by
44 private social clubs organized into four
divisions: the satirical Comics, glamorous-dressing Fancies, the musical String Bands
and the theatrical Fancy Brigades. The lavishly costumed paraders spend the day sashaying
ave
Date
OLD CI TY
the
First Friday
Jan. 4
Start the new year
off right with a walk
through Philadelphia’s
top art galleries in one
of the city’s most picturesque neighborhoods.
CENTER CITY
Bernstein
Festival
Jan. 10–Feb. 2
The Philadelphia Orchestra commemorates
the 90th anniversary
of Leonard Bernstein’s
birth with a four-week
festival at the Kimmel
Center. Kimmelcenter.org
CITY GUIDE
Philadelphia
up Broad Street to City Hall and then retire to
Two Street for an after-party through the wee
hours of the morning.
The best place to view the parade is
from the judging stands in front of City Hall,
but tickets must be reserved in advance from
the visitors center. If you can’t make it to the
New Year’s Day event, check out the Mummers
Museum on Second Street. Open year-round,
it’s chock-full of entertaining memorabilia
from the Mummers’ colorful 106-year history.
215-336-3050; mummers.com.
Cheesesteak Wars
While you’re still
contemplating
those New Year’s
dieting resolutions, we suggest a mind- and
palate-cleansing
pilgrimage to
Philadelphia’s
culinary mecca:
Cheesesteak Corner. Down on Ninth
and Passyunk,
perennial favorites
Pat’s and Geno’s
do daily battle for
the title of best
cheesesteak purveyor in the city.
Pat’s invented the
local delicacy back
in 1930, and the
newcomer Geno’s
has been its stiff-est competition
for over 40 years.
Both establishments are open 24
hours a day, seven
days a week, and
both have lines at
almost every hour
of the day or night.
The key difference
in their sandwiches
is in the texture of
the meat—Pat’s
steaks are more
chopped than
Geno’s—but both
agree on Cheez
Whiz and fried onions as the meat’s
perfect mates.
Almost as enjoyable as eating a
cheesesteak is
figuring out how
to order one using
the local vernacular. If you’d like
your sandwich
with Cheez Whiz
and fried onions,
for instance, you
say “whiz wit” and
nothing more. Always remember to
choose your words
carefully—one
wrong syllable and
you could get sent
to the back of the
line! Pat’s: 215-468-
1546; patsteaks.
com. Geno’s:
215-389-0659;
genosteaks.com.
CENTER CITY
I Dream a World
Celebration
Jan. 19
Join the American
Friends Service Committee for a special celebration of Dr. Martin
Luther King’s birthday.
Afsc.org
CEN TER CI TY
Cyrano
Feb. 8– 17
The Opera Company of
Philadelphia presents
the East Coast premiere
of a new opera based
on one of literature’s
classic characters, the
guy with the big nose.
Operaphilly.com
CENTER CITY
Star Wars:
Where Science
Meets the
Imagination
Feb. 8–May 4
Strap on your light saber
for this traveling exhibit
exploring the real science
behind everyone’s favorite sci-fi series. Fi.edu
