Pasadena’s ‘other’ parade celebrates 40 years of zaniness today
The Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will celebrate its 40th anniversary Sunday with the usual spontaneous and improvisational zaniness.
The offbeat parade – which organizers describe as “the twisted sister of the conventional Rose Parade” – will kick off at 11 a.m. in East Pasadena along Colorado Boulevard, between Altadena Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard. It is free of charge.
This year’s parade will feature dozens of art cars, inventive floats and a host of eccentric performers including the World’s Tallest Girl Scout, Murrugun the Mystic Sword Swallower and the Aloha Oy Vey Ukelele Marching Band. Hosting the event will be the Doo Dah’s 2017 Queen Imani and Grand Marshal Marty Coleman.
The silliness extends beyond the performers, though. Crowd tradition often includes tossing marshmallows, tortillas and neckties along the parade route.
The first Doo Dah Parade took place on Jan. 1, 1978. But its primary mission remains the same: To urge the community into a collective state of goofiness.
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