2006 Mummers Show of Shows

2006 Mummers Show of Shows

Well I have come back from Atlantic City and have had time to recoup somewhat. The Show of Shows is basically the New Year's Day parade, but inside, and it only consists of the String Band division. Here is how the Show of Shows works. Friday, all the different bands show up and set their area for costumes and instruments, a place to rest in between shows, and also has a place to eat, drink, and socialize. After everything is set up, you are free to visit friends, socialize, and most importantly and arguably the highlight of the weekend, participate in the greatest Mum Jam Secessions in the world!

Saturday comes and everyone again arrives and is assigned a time to go out on the floor and do a practice run of their routine, working out any issues they might have such as spacing, missing props, and people forgetting a step or two. Then they head back to their areas and have some breakfast and are able to mingle with people from different string bands. The line up for the bands goes as follows the last place association band then the 5th place band, 15th place band then 6th place band and so on. The top four bands go last in order from 4th to 1st. The bands then have time to get ready and practice there music and routine in what we call the PIT (simply nothing more than a roped off area for rehearsal) before they go out and perform for the audience. After one band goes out of the pit and onto the floor another band is waiting to go in and this continues until all the bands have finished and the first show is history. The Top four bands have the privilege of marching down the center isle of the bands different areas; we affectionately call this "The Corn Fields". All the members come out from their areas and watch and cheer for the top 4 bands as they march down the cornfields, serenading their fellow mums. After you return from doing your routine, it's lunchtime, and then the real fun begins.



Everyone goes from area to area to say hello, take pictures, and sometimes if your lucky, a JAM SESSION will break out. Jam Secessions are a great and intrigal part of the Mummers Tradition. Since judging music on New Years Day deals with your blend of musicians, jam secessions are a chance for Mummers to really showcase their talent. Saxophone players adding runs to simple tunes showing little or no effort, banjo players making solos using a concept called chord melody shows their expertise of their instrument, drummers shine, and if you’re lucky enough, you may even see a bass player soloing while standing on top of his/her instrument, all during a typical Mummers Jam Secession! These are the times that we MUMS really cherish. Competitors all under one roof, getting along and playing in harmony together while the eyes of many young potential Mums look on. This proves that we are really brothers and sisters in this tradition. We are competitors only one day a year, and only for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Before you know it, the second show is being prepped for. The process of playing your music and doing your routine in the PIT begins again. Then we all go back to are areas and get some more food and talk and party for the rest of the night.


You really have to be apart of a string band to get the full effect. After all is said and done, you talked to friends you haven't seen in a while, you make new ones, you come home with many memories, pictures, and video. The Show of Shows is just as important as New Years Day itself. Any mummer will tell you that. The Shows are a great part of this tradition we call Mummery. It is an experience that bonds you to your band, and makes your fellow Mummers more than band mates and friends. It is a weekend like this that allows you to invite new people into your family. Guaranteed, Mummers are great people to be related to, weather it be by blood or by music. The Show of Shows is truly a great time in the mummer community.