Doo Dah Parade

Festival Location: Pasadena, CA, USA

Festival State: Californian Festivals

Festival Type(s): Street Parades, Bizarre Festivals

by © Jan Friedman 2009

Fifteen hundred madcap marchers make up the outrageously satirical Doo Dah Parade. Unlike the structured Tournament of Roses Parade that it spoofs, anyone with an appreciation of irony can march in the Doo Dah, organized by the Unorganizers Unofficial Committee. Each year they anoint a Queen; in 1997 it was the deceased Lily Hodge, whose ashes were carried in an urn along the parade route by her husband who claimed Lily had always loved the parade. The Doo Dah has spawned such legends as the Briefcase Marching Drill Team, the Hibachi Marching Grill Team, and the Invisible Man Marching Band. With marchers like Jerking Man, Confused Dogs in Drag, the Flying Toilet and the Graveyard Farmers, it's no wonder 40,000 people cram the streets to see the spectacle. Want to see the spoof of the spoof? Check out Berkeley's Doo Dah Parade in the northern California section.

Doo Dah Parade - When, Where and More Info Please

When: The Doo Dah Parade is held annually in November

Where: Pasadena, CA

More Info Please: Contact Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau at 171 South Los Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101; [800 307 7977] or [626 795 9311] or check out the web site at www.pasadenavisitor.org or www.pasadenadoodahparade.com.

The above is an excerpt from Jan Friedman's wonderful, Eccentric America. Read more from Eccentric America at Jan's website at www.eccentricamerica.com or take a look at Jan's latest offering, Eccentric California at www.eccentriccalifornia.net.