The Votes Are In!
2024 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → Jesslynn Desmond Will Reign Over the 42nd Pasadena Doo Dah Parade
Community Oct 24, 2019
Jesselynn Desmond was bequeathed the 2019 royal crown. - Courtesy photo / Doo Dah Parade
by
share with
Jesselynn Desmond was bequeathed the 2019 royal crown. – Courtesy photo / Doo Dah Parade
When the judges gathered for the selection of this year’s Doo Dah Queen they had quite a job on their hands. Last year’s reigning queen, Jennipha, had raised the bar as a local and even global activist. She is CEO and co-founder of the One World Project, a community-based initiative focused on providing programs and advocacy in an effort to address problematic social issues. When all was said and done, the bar remained high as Jesselynn Desmond was bequeathed the 2019 royal crown.
Queen Jesselynn will reign over the 2019 Pasadena Doo Dah Parade, which takes place in East Pasadena on Sunday, Nov. 24 stepping off at 11 a.m. The new Doo Dah Queen is a graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has been acting since the age of three. She’s acted in TV shows, indie films, voiceover animation, and theatrical productions. Desmond is an original member of the fantastical, surreal, and interactive Lucent Dossier Experience and for the last 12 years has performed with the company around the world.
Doo Dah Queens also come with some unpredictable skills. Jesselynn has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as the country’s loudest screaming football fan. Apparently a 22-year-old student and UCLA fan won the right to be known as “America’s Loudest College Football Fan” in an officially staged contest. She outshouted 12 others at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., with her voice registering 111 decibels. An aside: a chainsaw or rock concert hits 110 decibels. Desmond was thrilled when the Queen announcement was made, but withheld evidence of her formidable shouting ability.
Jesselynn says she’s “driven by a desire to touch the human spirit and inspire change and growth.” Given its open, accessible nature, she sees the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade as an ideal fit. “I’m proud to be part of an event that brings the community out to share a good time, happiness and friendship,” she adds. Parade Organizer Tom Coston also sees Jesselynn’s role coming at a perfect time for both the event and our anxious social climate. “Jesselynn has established an awesome reputation as a performing artist and models our focus on art and culture as a unifying, inspiring force in our lives.”
