Crowds slow to gather after Mummers Parade delayed

Though the Comics had begun their strut down Broad Street, crowds of spectators had yet to assemble along the parade route.

And Jacqui Prede, a vendor from Providence, RI, noticed.

"It's just been a bad crowd because it started late," Prede said.

The 47-year-old has been attending the festival for five years.

"The Mummers Parade is one of a kind, just to come here and see it," she said. "For me it's a mix of business with pleasure. It's unbelievable."

Organizers decided to push back the start of the parade at about 5 a.m. due to rain and high winds in the forecast.

"It was suppose to go off at 8:50 a.m.," said Randy Giancaterino, spokesman for the parade.

But because of the delay, it didn't start until about noon.

"Instead of doing the parade on Saturday, we figured we could get it in today," said John Pignotti, the President of the Philadelphia Mummers String Band Association.

That made Dominic Russo happy. The 12-year-old was enjoying himself as he sprayed pink silly string.

It's "just crazy," he said of the parade. "It's New Year."

For more information on the Mummers, go to http://go.philly.com/mummers.