It was a full house at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where a celebration of faithful gathered to pray for a blessed New Year and for a great Mummers Parade.
Mummers, meanwhile, were excited and ready to go; hopefully, the weather will cooperate
The finishing touches were applied to golden slippers at Woodland String Band's Clubhouse today.
Meanwhile, saxophonist Rick Conti was making sure the music was in order.
John Riecky of Satin Slipper Fancy Brigade was showing off the beautiful costumes with the pirate theme.
9-and-a-half-year-old Gavin Gindville is a 7-year veteran Mummer.
"It's fun. You get to do a lot of stuff; you get to play on the floats with your friends," Gavin said.
Club members were busy completing scaffolding for the big props.
At the Convention Center Fancy Brigades have been rehearsing for Thursday's big show.
Of course, all are hoping the winds die down and the parade kicks off without a hitch.
"I'm not sure exactly what the wind is called for tomorrow, but I know once it gets up into the upper 20s into the 30s, I know the fancy clubs and the string bands will start having concerns about the wind," Jim Julia of the Fancy Brigade Association said.
Despite the fact that the parade will only last six and half hours this year due to city budget cuts, everyone was in good spirits.
If the weather doesn't cooperate, the parade will not be delayed, but it will be postponed till Saturday.
Of course, the shows at the Convention Center will still be held tomorrow.
The 2009 Mummers Parade is on. The Comics kick it all off at 10:00 a.m. at Broad and Washington.
It promises to be quite a show.
