Parade

Their South Philadelphia warehouse was still smoldering from a four-alarm fire earlier in the day, but members of the Fralinger String Band declared Monday night that they would not miss the Mummers Parade. "Fralinger will never back down from a challenge," said Thomas D'Amore, 24, the captain. The band had been renting first-floor space at Second and Wharton Streets to make props and costumes, D'Amore said. "Unfortunately, this is the first year we've rented this spot," said D'Amore, drinking a Pepsi outside the Shamrock Pub down Two Street.

AS THE TRADITION of ringing in the New Year in Philadelphia with the Mummers approaches, we appreciate Stu Bykofsky's column (Dec. 3) noting the improvements parade-goers can look forward to this year, from better views at the City Hall judging area to shorter gaps between performances. The column notes 1,200 ticketed bleacher seats - in fact, more than 1,500 seats will be available to fans at the enhanced Grandstand entertainment zone on JFK Boulevard between 15th and 16th streets. Tickets for these bleacher seats are available through the Independence Visitor Center.

Santa and Mrs. Claus come to the annual Peddler's Village Christmas Festival this weekend. The two-day festival will feature a parade, music performances, and activities. A highlight will be a Saturday parade featuring performances by Central Bucks East Marching Band, which will lead the procession; the Season's Greetings Eagles Pep Band; Victorian carolers the Spiced Punch Singers, and more. Santa and the Mrs. will arrive at 1:30 p.m. in a horse-drawn carriage to get the parade started.

DRAG QUEENS WILL glitz up the next Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. Ten veteran drag performers will join the New Year's Day celebration, each in costumes matching the theme of a Fancy Brigade. "I think it's kind of crazy to be so mainstream now," said Ian Morrison, who handpicked the members of the first "Drag Brigade. " Morrison will participate as his drag alias, Brittany Lynn. He's been performing for 15 years and said that "Philly's come a long way" in terms of LGBT rights.

WILMINGTON - Burned out after Black Friday? Relax at a parade. The Wilmington Jaycees Christmas Parade will start at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fifth and Market Streets. It will include marching bands from Salesianum School and the Cab Calloway School of the Arts. Two Mummers Parade troupes, the Woodland and Duffy String Bands, will also take part. - AP

Twenty-second Street and the Parkway, the southwest corner. For 40 years, that's been Ed Proudman's spot for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the place to which he dragged children from their warm beds and where he now watches them do the same with their children. Where he brings his ladder so late arrivals without manners don't block the children's view. And perhaps most important, where he gets out of the house for a few hours so his wife can get some peace while she prepares Thanksgiving dinner.

NEW YORK - Victims of Superstorm Sandy in New York and elsewhere in the Northeast were comforted Thursday by kinder weather, free holiday meals and - for some - front-row seats to the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "It means a lot," said Karen Panetta, of the hard-hit Broad Channel section of Queens, as she sat in a special viewing section set aside for New Yorkers displaced by the storm. "We're thankful to be here and actually be a family and to feel like life's a little normal today," she said.

22nd Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the southwest corner. For 40 years that's been Ed Proudman's spot for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the place where he dragged children from their warm beds and now watches them do the same with their children. Where he brings his ladder so late arrivals without manners don't block the kids' view. And perhaps most importantly, where he gets out of the house for a few hours so his wife can get some peace while she prepares Thanksgiving dinner.

HERE'S a breakdown of what's happening in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving and what's closed for the holiday: *  Thanksgiving Day Parade: The parade starts at 8:30 a.m. at 20th Street and JFK Boulevard and ends around noon at the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Some recommended viewing spots are the steps of the Art Museum, the south side of Eakins Oval near the museum and Logan Circle around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. * Normal trash collection on Thursday will be collected on Friday.

MIDLAND, Texas - The driver of a parade float filled with wounded veterans and their spouses that was struck by a freight train in West Texas is an Army veteran himself who is "in shock" over the accident that killed four people, an attorney said Tuesday. Dale Andrew Hayden was driving a flatbed truck that investigators say edged across a railroad crossing despite warning signals of a fast approaching train, Hayden's attorney, Hal Brockett, said. "Words can't express the sorrow and remorse for the people who got hurt and killed," Brockett said in an interview.