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View Winners → Doo Dah Delights the Masses at the 41st Occasional Parade
Arts Nov 19, 2018
Paraders holding various signs at the parade. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
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Paraders holding various signs at the parade. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
This unique parade showcases all of the weirdest things that East Pasadena has to offer.
By Kenya Barrett
“Happy Doo Dah!” That is what the parade goers, locals and marchers chanted in the morning hours leading up to one of the most anticipated events in East Pasadena. An eccentric display put on by some of the city’s most free-spirited people, the 41st Annual Parade was truly a sight to see.
With an audience of hundreds standing up and sitting comfortably along the sidewalks of Colorado Boulevard, the parade started with the local band, the Pasadena Scots, playing the ones and twos on their drums and bagpipes. Soon to follow were a number of entries ranging from political satire and environmental groups to zombies and a dog mimicking Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous, “I’m Flying” scene from the film Titanic. While many of the paraders were there to strut their wackiest outfits, others participated to share messages of what they believe is wrong with today’s world.
Doo Dah is known for its unique cars. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Through all of the beads and tortillas thrown throughout the streets, Doo Dah Queen Jennipha Nielsen made an appearance and excited the crowds as she galloped up and down Colorado Boulevard, on her peacock feather-dressed horse and glittery purple bodysuit. And if that didn’t get the viewers going, the “Flying Baby Field Goal” float definitely did. One of the most bizarre displays in the parade, it features a group of men kicking toy babies into a makeshift football field goal post using a fake severed leg.
“Probably one of the craziest things I have ever witnessed at a parade,” says West Los Angeles local, Garret S. about the Flying Baby float. “As bizarre as it was, I have to admit it was creative and kind of funny.”
Some of the marchers included the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ, Coast to Coast Critters, League of Women Voters, The Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy, Santa Claus, Uncle Fester and the Mobile Music Fest which featured a live band playing music atop a truck with 60’s and 70’s theme dressed people following and dancing right behind. Also, viewers saw several themed cars dressed in fake flowers, airplane fragments, old CDs and Barbie doll bodies and heads.
Parader David Isaac is an attendee of the parade. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
For many, attending the Doo Dah Parade will continue to be a tradition for years to come, no matter how far away they may live. Glendale local and previous Doo Dah Queen runner-up Yolanda D., enjoys participating in the Doo Dah and has been for over 20 years. “[Doo Dah] is always a complete afternoon of laughter and utter chaos; there are no rules, just be cool.”
While this year’s parade was surely a unique feat, perhaps Doo Dah 2019 will be even more spectacular than them all.
