Mummers 2008 Part 2
After a bit of research on Philly.com's results page, Mummers.com and this Philly Chit Chat post, I believe I saw the top 3 String Bands perform at the 2008 Mummers Parade. Above is, I believe, South Philadelphia who brought in 92.5 points. They had a gigantic King Kong which was about 3/4 the width of Broad Street as part of their set dressing.
If you were to tell your shrink you had a vision of giant fishpeople marching up Broad Street, s/he'd prescribe something hefty. If that same shrink was Philly-based, s/he'd tell you to join a 2 St Brigade. Above is the Aqua String Band who finished 14th with 56 points.
Aqua's captain Don McGrogan finished 11th with 39 points.
Second Place Quaker City String Band who finished with 94.625 points. I, along with anyone who wanted, was able to stand in the middle of the Sansom/Broad intersection to grab some shots. That's 37-year veteran of the parade Robert Shannon Jr., second place captain with 52.250, waving to the east side of the crowd.
Doesn't Shannon's headdress make you want to munch on a banana?
At center is First Place Fralinger's captain William Bowen Jr., who won the captains' competition with 54.625, leaping into the air. He gave a quite lively display and he was all over the place. They wore these crazy masks which I'm hoping they kept them warm on this cold day. They took First with 96.25 points.
The finale of the Fralinger's performance was a gigantic confetti blast which had the frozen crowd clapping furiously.
January 2nd, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
Great pics, man.
Only thing is, dear Lord, did Fralinger REALLY need to win 6 years in a row? AND Their Captain? Ferko should've won for their insane Roman Legion theme/skit, or South Philly with the King Kong. And Ferko, Quaker City (BOB!), and South Philly all had much better Captains.
January 2nd, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
nice shots! i didn't take any this year. i skipped the parade in favor of the two-street celebration, but had to go home before things really got ramped up down there since it was running so late. bummer!
January 2nd, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Man, I love these nighttime pix. Wow…excellent lighting and cool setting that you got. Well done.
January 3rd, 2008 @ 9:25 am
Great Shots as always. Next year you need to head down to 2 street after the parade with your camera. Here are a few shots I took of the mayhem – http://www.chiladelphia.com
January 3rd, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Wow, awesome! Having seen these vibrant shots, I think it looks better at night than in the day, but I never would have believed that prior to seeing these two posts. Great job,Albert.
January 3rd, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
You must have been standing right next to me. I will be scouring my photos for you. I have that same shot of the fish head waving.
January 3rd, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
Thanks for the blog link too!!
January 4th, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
[...] Friday, 4, January, 2008 in At Home in Philadelphia What better way (insert sarcastic tone) to start the New Year than with the flu? My partner and I both have it now. Since he excels at so much of what he does, he has moved from flu to pneumonia while I'm still just back at the, "Damn! I feel like crap!" stage. We'll both be okay eventually, but playing host to these bugs made us miss a New Year's party at a friend's house on Broad St. Although I could post some pictures of past Mummer's parades I've attended I'd rather point readers to the PHILLY blog for glittering and colorful pics from the 2008 celebration. [...]
January 6th, 2008 @ 11:07 pm
Looks like you got the D3 already, the color, etc is so good! Great set. I had no idea so much went on after dark.