New Year offers best way to poke fun at 2018 with Delaware's Hummers Parade

On the quiet side streets of Middletown, Brett Kavanaugh’s voice could be heard through loudspeakers on New Year’s Day:

"I like beer. I don't know if you like beer, senator, what do you like to drink?"

Clad in black robes chugging a beer, the person pretending to be the controversial recently appointed Supreme Court judge marched alongside children in cages, white picket border fences and a handful of Burt Reynoldses for the 48th unofficial annual Hummers Parade in Middletown.

The Hummers Parade has been known to turn heads for controversial portrayals of local and national politics and cultural references, a far cry from the bedazzled spectacle of the nearby Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.

“You’re in for a hell of a treat,” said veteran parade participant Michael Wipf as he hid baby dolls under a blanket on his chest. “Pay attention.”

The “haphazardly fun” event is a chance for Delawareans to be as politically incorrect as possible, said Wipf of Middletown.

“Too many people here have a great time,” he said, adding that part of the fun is how hastily the event is thrown together: Participants are not supposed to start assembling anything until the official start of the new year.

But after the short-lived procession ended on New Year’s Day, some in the crowd were a little underwhelmed. While the crowd was larger in the warmer weather, some griped that the displays weren’t as cringe-worthy as year’s past — with the exception of a grown man playing a baby in soiled underwear caged at border detention.

President Donald Trump’s border wall and tributes to the late Burt Reynolds were the most common theme of the parade this year. But participants also donned what looked like suicide vests or Melania Trump’s infamous “I don’t care, do u?” jacket, or skipped clothing, as did one naked underdog supporting the Superbowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles.

“I don’t know who the [expletive] is going to show up,” said the parade’s self-proclaimed “disorganizer” Jack Schreppler. “And I don’t care. I don’t care that that guy’s peeing over there.”

Schreppler said he started with the parade in 1972, the year after its inaugural march. Since then, not much has changed other than the specific topics people pick to poke fun at.

“Everybody will have a blast,” Wipf said. “And if you don’t like it, don’t come back.”

Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.

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