Every New Year’s Day at 4 a.m. Mike Presser’08 gets out of bed. He slathers himself in make-up, sequins and feathers and heads for Broad Street in Philadelphia. For Mike, this has been a way of life since he was 13 years old. That’s when he joined the ranks of the Philadelphia tradition, the Mummers! The main event for every Mummer is the New Year’s Day parade down Broad Street in Philadelphia.

Four main divisions of Mummers compete in the energetic parade. The “Comics,” dressed up like wenches, clowns or even Austin Powers, look for laughs on every street corner. The “Fancies,” with their large and brightly-colored plumes both on their person and in their hands, dance their way to a hopeful first prize, while the “String bands” liven up the air with their saxophones, banjos and drums. Finally, the “Fancy Brigades” strut down Broad Street and right into an arena where they add large props to their fanciful costumes and perform a theme-based
number.

Both Mike and brother Bob Presser ’11 are proud members of the Woodland String Band, an organization that began in 1926. Mummers trace their roots back to the late 1700s when the Swedes migrated into the Philadelphia area. They brought with them a custom of celebrating the new year with masquerades and parades of noisy revelers. These were mixed with Greek, Italian and British traditions including the Mummery Play. Groups would travel from house to house singing songs and dancing to be rewarded with food and drink.

The first Mummer’s parade was in 1888 and the first string band joined the parade in 1901. Mummers were the blue-collar working class men, they came from steel mills, factories and the military. Today the groups are still mostly male with members coming from all walks of life.

In 2000, Mike and best friend Rick Conti saw an advertisement for the Irish-American String Band, a new band seeking players. “I thought Mummers were just old guys playing banjo,” says Presser. “I already played the clarinet and the saxophone wasn’t much different, so we joined.”

The first years were difficult. “We were just trying to get enough people to perform. We wore simple sweatpants with sequins glued on them.” Over the next six years Presser became deeply rooted in the Mummer experience.“It’s like another family,” he explains. “The fraternal atmosphere is what keeps me coming back.”

That fraternal spirit got even stronger in 2002 when Presser’s younger brother, and current Albright freshman, Bob, joined the Irish-American String Band as a marshal. In that role, Bob constructs and moves the various props used during the performances.“I thought it was interesting to do band in a different way than we did in school,” says the younger Presser, who also plays the trombone.

The two brothers left the Irish-American String Band in 2006 to join Woodland. The schedule is rigorous with rehearsals every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

There are also performances all year round. The group travels up and down the east coast as well as to Ireland each year. “The busiest times are over the summer months when we may have seven parades on the Fourth of July plus shows at the shore,” says Mike. “People in Philadelphia tend to take the Mummers for granted, but when you go outside of the area the response is amazing.” Mike’s ultimate goal is to march down 13th Street in Reading during Albright’s Homecoming parade with his brothers from Woodland.

Even though the Presser brothers may not make every rehearsal and every performance, they always make the main event, the New Year’s Day parade. There is a 4 a.m. meeting for props and a 6 a.m. call for makeup. The Woodland String Band, with 65 Mummers, has a budget of more than $100,000 for that day, most of which goes to costumes that can run in excess of $1,000 each. With brightly colored feathers, sparkling sequins and intricate details, the costumes are flashy and over-emphasized to be noticeable at a great distance.

When the parade steps off at 9 a.m., banjos wail as they begin the Mummer strut, keeping their knees and backs bent as they sway in time to the music, all the while energizing the crowd. It will take five or six hours to make it down Broad Street and, with 50 pounds of brightly colored and ornate props on their backs (and even heads), the parade tests the strength of every member. In November 2006 Bob was hit by a car which shattered his left leg. Against the wishes of his doctor and parents, he still made the walk down Broad Street.

“It’s very much like Mardi Gras. There are thousands of people.”

“Broad Street is very serious. There is no drinking or partying. It’s very much a family atmosphere and a competition,” explains Mike. “Once you are finished performing you move on to Two Street. That is a whole different story.”

Second Street in Philadelphia, referred to as Two Street by locals, houses all of the Mummer clubs as well as the Mummer Museum. “It’s very much like Mardi Gras. There are thousands of people crammed on to this little street,” says Mike. “Bands play at each club on Two Street well into the next morning.”

Both Mike and Bob take quite a bit of ribbing from their classmates at Albright. “It’s harder here because not everyone knows what a Mummer is. I have to explain it a lot more than I did in high school,” says Bob. Whether or not they know what a Mummer is, students take great pleasure in teasing Mike. In fact there is a group on the online social network Facebook called “Dirty Mummers Like Mike Presser are Polluting the Nation.” While someone unfamiliar with Mike may take offense to the group, it’s made up of some of his closest friends and even roommates.

Once you ask these friends for their honest opinion, you get a different story. “I think that it is remarkable how Mike is so passionate about being a Mummer,” says fellow Pi Kappa Phi brother Michael Goon ’09. “Even though we give Mike a hard time we are all very proud of him.” Mike’s roommates have the same opinion. “I think that what Presser is doing is incredible,” comments Jeffrey Brown ’08. “He gets a chance to participate in something that not only showcases his musical talents, but entertains thousands of people every year…it really speaks for how unique he is.”

Tarek Mohamed ’08, Facebook’s self-proclaimed“Undercover Agent of Anti-Mummerism,” doesn’t necessarily enjoy the music, but he approves of Mike. “It’s strange, but he likes it. If you have a passion for dressing up in flamboyant clothing and playing music, hey do it. He just needs to get all his Mummer outfits out of our house,” jokes Mohamed.

Bob, who has affectionately been nicknamed “Baby Mummer,” has only begun to take the jokes like his brother. He has accepted a bid to his older brother’s fraternity, and knows what the future holds. “This gives them four more years to come up with new ways to make fun of Mummers.”