Mummers Parade Gets New Faces
I don’t think the announcer knows what the hell is going on here, and neither do we. It looks like they’re having fun though, and that what counts. This is Nerd Island, a new group to the Mummers Parade, also those guys that staged that protest against fracking back in April.
Most people think that the mummers parade is for born and bred Philadelphians. Recently, that’s not so true. Like most things these days, the Mummers Parade doesn’t have the money it used to, so some brigades are seeing less and less members, leaving an open space for newbies like Nerd Island. As most Mummer brigades are putting the final touches on their costumes and dances, Aryon Hoselton is just getting down to work on Nerd Island, a comic brigade that will be strutting their stuff for the second year. “I want everyone to do the Mummers,” says “I want it to be the biggest community of artmaking people in Philadelphia.” There are a gigantic amount of artists in Philly trying to bring more creativity to the Mummery, which as we currently know it is, let’s admit, kind of a drag. Aryon and his buddy, Jarmel participated in the Off The Blanket Flea Market at Space 1026 last night, and they’re getting back to work on costumes today, silkscreening, getting from strangers, and coordinating choreography and the music for the theme Bedazzled Hazard Disaster Blasters. All of this is coming together in his live-work warehouse space in Kensington. If you want to be a part of their division of the Comic Brigade, you can choose to be in costume as one of many natural disasters. The whole act will end with, of course, a double rainbow. We know it sounds kinda crazy, seeing that new years day is 2 weeks away, but it really is not too late to join!
Nerd Island has weekly Monday and Thursday night and Sunday Afternoon meetings. You can easily create a costume at one or 2 of the 3 hour meetings. They rely heavily on people bringing some of their own materials, so contact them and ask what’s good! Their goal is to make access to the Mummery as affordable as possible. Mummer Parade Badges are $1.75, with a suggested donation is $20, half of which benefits a fundraiser for Haiti. They’re trying to get 100 bodies, so hurry.
