A fabulously folksy festival: Land and Sea celebrates mummers' heritage

On the nights between Boxing Day and Old Christmas Day, on Jan. 6, mummers will be on the move on Newfoundland's Southern Shore.

It's one of the areas in Newfoundland and Labrador where the tradition of going house to house in a foolish disguise has been kept alive.

"I'm probably the youngest mummer up the shore. So I'm 32 now and, you know, I have no plans on giving it up," Katie Barbour, who has been dressing up as a mummer since she was a child, told Land and Sea.

Barbour isn't the only one determined to preserve this colourful custom.

The Mummers Festival in St. John's is celebrating its 15th year this season. 

"It's been practised here in Newfoundland and Labrador for over 300 years. But because of outmigration from the outports and smaller communities into larger centres, it wasn't really being practised as much as it used to be," said Lynn McShane, the festival's executive director.

"So the intent was to reintroduce the tradition to new generations and to new people and to new Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

For two weeks in early December, McShane and her team organize events to celebrate the joy of janneying, as it's also sometimes called.

WATCH | Catch a full episode of Land and Sea highlighting the Mummers Festival:

There's an art night where participants make mummer-themed Christmas cards. There's a mummer fashion show held at The Rooms, the cultural complex in St. John's that is home to the provincial museum, archives and art gallery. Festivalgoers can also learn how to make a key mumming musical instrument: the ugly stick. 

The event culminates with a marvellous masquerade: a parade. This year's parade is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. NT at Bowring Park, by the west gates. 

Ryan Davis, one of the folklorists who founded the Mummers Festival, remembers the first parade. 

"Oh, it took off. It was kind of like being at your birthday party and just hoping someone would show up. And sure enough, maybe 300 people or so showed up in disguise ready to mummer. They really went for it," said Davis. 

"There are people with the accordions and ugly sticks. So after that we knew that this was something that people really wanted to engage in. People really latched onto it with a lot of passion."

Organizers say the attendance grows every year. 

Mummer lovers tell McShane the folksy festival is becoming a yuletide must.

"They tell us that they're introducing their kids and their grandkids to the tradition, which is exactly what we want to hear," she said. 

Land and Sea tells the story behind the Mummers Festival and joins in on all the fun in an episode called A Fabulously Folksy Festival. 

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