After organising the trip, Fiona began documenting their journey on social media.
Avril became known as “Grandma Mumm” online and “all the captains of the different bands were told I was there and they wanted to see me,” she said.
“My favourite captain even kissed me on the hand, but I had my gloves on,” she chuckled.
“So I said to him ‘I’m going to wear this glove forever’.”
When they found a spot to watch the parade, one of the officials even moved them to the judges’ stand to give her a better view.
It was freezing cold in Philadelphia so Avril’s family piled blankets on her and gathered hot water bottles to keep her warm, “but I wouldn’t move, not for the world, not until it finished”.
Organisers pulled out all the stops to make her trip special, said Fiona.
Avril was greeted with a VIP tour of the Mummers Museum and her favourite string band captain Jimmy Good showed up to surprise her.
She was gifted a custom-made golden umbrella and learned how to do the Mummers strut with him.
James “Jim” Donio, a retired Mummer who hosts the television stream of the parade, was instrumental in helping make the trip special for Avril, Fiona said, and he kept in regular contact.
“They were wonderful, the presents they gave, but not only that… they took time to speak to me,” said Avril.
“To think they took time to speak to me, a grandma from Wales. I thought ‘why are they making a fuss of me.”