December 26, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The Mummers Parade routinely draws thousands of spectators on New Year's Day with its extravagant costumes and musical performances. The 2025 route will again run along Broad Street.
One of Philadelphia's best-known spectacles — and there are many — returns on the first day of 2025.
The Mummers will once again strut along Broad Street on Wednesday, Jan. 1. The bejeweled and bedazzled marchers have been parading on New Year's Day for well over a century with the city's blessing, and even longer off the books. Though each year brings new themes, viewers can expect flashy musical performances from the String Bands and Fancy Brigades, skits from the Comics and general pomp from the rest of the crew.
The Mummers Parade is free entertainment, but there's more than one way to watch. Here's what to know about the upcoming event, including the roads and SEPTA lines that'll be impacted by the 2025 shenanigans:
The colorful procession departs from City Hall at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The Mummers will march down Broad Street to Washington Avenue.
From 9 a.m. Monday through 7 a.m. Thursday, 15th Street will be closed to southbound traffic at JFK Boulevard as the Mummers assemble (and dissemble) their equipment. The road will then close to all traffic from JFK Boulevard to Market Street at 10 a.m. Tuesday. That restriction will remain in effect until 5 a.m. Thursday.
The section of Market Street between 15th and 21st streets will also shutter at 10 a.m. Tuesday. It will reopen at 3 p.m. to traffic moving eastbound on Market Street to 15th Street; drivers can then continue southbound on 15th.
The bulk of the road closures, however, are scheduled for New Year's Day. Broad Street will shutter between South Penn Square and Washington Avenue from 7 a.m. until the parade concludes. The rest of the restrictions start at 3 a.m. Wednesday and will lift after the event ends:
• 15th Street from Arch to Chestnut streets
• Market Street from 15th to 21st streets
• Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 16th to 20th streets
• North Broad Street from Cherry Street to JFK Boulevard
• 16th Street from Chestnut to Race streets
• 17th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Ludlow Street
• 18th Street from Ludlow to Race streets
• 19th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Chestnut Street
• 1500 block of Ranstead Street
• 1300 block of Carpenter Street
• 1000 block of South 13th Street
• Chestnut Street from 15th to 18th streets (north side)
• Cherry Street from 15th to 17th streets
• Arch Street from 15th to 17th streets
• Washington Avenue from 12th to 18th streets
Drivers can't park on either side of the following streets (unless otherwise noted) between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday:
• Broad Street from Arch to Ellsworth streets
• Juniper Street from JFK Boulevard to East Penn Square
• South/East Penn Square from 15th to Juniper streets
• Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 16th to 20th streets
• Logan Circle (north side)
• North Broad Street from Cherry Street to JFK Boulevard
• 16th Street from Chestnut to Race streets
• 17th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Ludlow Street
• 18th Street from Ludlow to Race streets
• 19th Street from Ben Franklin Parkway to Chestnut Street
• 19th Street from JFK Boulevard to Market Street
• 1500 block of Ranstead Street
• 1300 block of Carpenter Street
• 1000 block of South 13th Street
• Chestnut Street from 15th to 18th streets (north side)
• Cherry Street from 15th to 17th streets
• Arch Street from 15th to 17th streets
• Washington Avenue from 12th to 18th streets
Regular SEPTA service will shift to accommodate the marchers. From 8:15 a.m. Tuesday until roughly 2 a.m. Wednesday, these routes will be detoured:
• 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48, 62, 124, 125, BSO and MFO
The list expands Wednesday. The following routes will be impacted from 2 a.m. until about 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Day:
• 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 48, 49, 64, 124, 125, BSO, and MFO
Additionally, the 29, 57 and 79 buses will be detoured from their usual runs between 6 a.m. and roughly 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
The "performance zone" bleachers by City Hall offer a front-row seat to the action for a fee. Call the Independence Visitor Center at 1-800-537-7676 or head to its 599 Market St. location to secure this seating. The parade will be broadcast live on WDPN-TV — that's Channel 2 — and stream via the WFMZ+ app. Viewers can also tune in on WFMZ.com.
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