For Uptown String Band, New Year’s Day was pretty sweet.
Dressed as massive ice cream sundaes, chocolate bunnies and cotton candy, the Langhorne-based band strutted down Broad Street, entertaining thousands with its theme of “Sinfully Sweet Twisted Treats.”
The judges loved the sugar rush that Uptown brought, awarding them sixth place for the first time since 2018, when they braved frigid temperatures to put on a “Voodoo Gras” performance.
However, this wasn’t the only thing that Uptown got to celebrate last Monday night. First-time captain Kade Radcliffe, who commanded the show area in front of City Hall while dressed as a twisted version of Willy Wonka, earned first place among string band captains.
“It was amazing to me,” Radcliffe said after the performance, as confetti rained down and his bandmates passed out candy to the crowd. “We got a lot of practice in. We rehearsed. We knew what we were doing. I felt good about what I was doing. There’s nothing I’d rather do.”
Over the course of five minutes, live audiences and television viewers were brought into the world of Wonka’s chocolate factory to see what really goes on behind the scenes.
Massive, vibrantly-colored, stage-worthy backdrops displayed the taffy pull, control center and other spots of the facility. Meanwhile, fun surprises like Oompa Loompas, Peeps and a giant gumball machine made special appearances, all as Uptown played relevant tunes like “Pure Imagination,” heard in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. For the grand finale, a larger-than-life version of Stay Puft from Ghostbusters was wheeled out.
As Uptown walked away from the staging area, ready to embark on the rest of the parade route, they performed Al Jolson’s “Toot Toot Tootsie!.” Put together by Bensalem’s Robert Haywood, who was recently inducted into the Philadelphia String Band Association Hall of Fame after marching for 50 years, this was the same arrangement played as they walked off in 1976, when Uptown won first place.
In an effort to prepare for the big day, the entire Uptown String Band attended the movies together to see the newly-released Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant. They certainly captured the slightly disturbing whimsicalness of the film and its predecessors, with hosts Larry Mendte, Dawn Stensland and David Grzybowski agreeing that Radcliffe strongly resembled Johnny Depp from 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Though 2024 didn’t garner the same results as 1976, it was still a momentous night at Uptown headquarters, located at Parkland Fire Company. Upon learning that Radcliffe earned first-place captain, the entire room erupted in cheers, band members rushing to hug and congratulate their leader.
For Radcliffe, such a win was particularly special.
A third-generation Mummer, he got to make his father Ryan, a former Uptown captain and current drill master, and grandfather Ron, proud. After Duffy String Band captain Jake Kudrick, who earned fifth place, Radcliffe is the second-youngest captain at the age of 22.
“That’s why I got into it, that’s why I’m still in it and that’s my favorite part about it,” he said of the familial aspect that’s very common in Mummerdom. “I get to play and perform with my favorite people in the world: my dad, my grandpa, my brother, all my best friends. My girlfriend’s a dancer. I get to spend New Year’s day with all of them. It’s the best thing in the world.”
Though the excitement is still at an all-time high for Radcliffe and the rest of Uptown, props are being disassembled and costumes stored away, all while preparations for 2025 begin.
Uptown is on an upward trajectory, earning sixth place after an eighth-place finish in 2019 for “A Night to Dismember” and ninth place in 2023 for “Safari So Good.” Can they climb even higher next year and compete with top bands like South Philadelphia and Quaker City?
Grzybowski thinks so.
“Uptown wants to move up in the ranks,” he said. “And I believe they have one of the top three banjo sections on the street.”
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
