Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade fills downtown with quirky, funky and Wookiee

It was a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere Sunday morning, Nov. 24, in Old Pasadena when the Doo Dah Parade poured into the streets for the 45th time in its unique history.

Rife with bubbles, balloons, a rain shower of flying tortillas, and every color and costume under the rainbow, the veritable “anti-Rose Parade” celebration was attended by thousands.

More than 100 groups took part in the cavalcade — from parade mainstays like The Million Mrs. Roper March and the local band Shag Party, to a wide range of newcomers that included The Beatles Reunited, Society for the Preservation of the Quill Pen, California Jones & the Paraders of the Found Snark, and the wookiee rock band Rocka Chewbacca.

“Doo Dah is alive and well in its 45th year,” declared Tom Coston, board chair of Light Bringer Project. “It’s middle aged. It’s ready to buy a Porsche.”

While the parade offered a loose theme of Instant Karma, part of the attraction for the fun-spirited event is that no one need abide by the theme or any specific regiments.

“This is a people-driven event, so it really is based on how everybody feels. It’s different every year,” Coston said, with around 25,000 viewers in attendance last year and even more expected this time.

“I think just given our times, where everybody is feeling so much stress for obvious reasons,” he said, “I think that people just want to go out and have fun in our Main Street of the 21st century and be with their neighbors and smile and laugh and be artistic.

“Being out here at the Doo Dah Parade is a way to celebrate who we are living together with each other, what really matters in life, just being at peace with each other and having fun and smiling,” he said.

Coston added that the more serious side of the event is promoting creativity within the local community, which is at the crux of the LBP nonprofit, which has overseen the parade since 1995.

Covering a short route, the parade assembled on the west side of Memorial Park and headed down Raymond Avenue, turning right onto Colorado Boulevard and finishing up at Pasadena Avenue, with an adult after-party scheduled at the Old Towne Pub and an all-age party at Dog Haus Pasadena.

“These people just are doing special stuff,” said Jack Gogreve of Highland Park, part of the Doo Dah Preservation Society. “It takes a lot of work to be funky.”

Most participants love the free expression, which combines cosplay with performance art. Many also execute a slew of creative ideas, which this year included a motorized cupcake, stilt walking, a 15-person horse costume, and an interactive Uncle Fester performed by Charles F. DelValle of Twentynine Palms, who has been participating in the parade since 1995.

“It’s fun. I have so much fun with it,” he said, joking that his real face scares people already, so Fester, the Charles Addams character, is a good fit.

This year’s Queen, Sparrow Dena, rode on a float with her ukelele and enjoyed a chance to share her spirit.

“The parade is a place for people to be themselves, express themselves, and when we do that we make everybody else feel a little bit less alone about expressing themselves,” Dena said.

Xena Hernandez, 10, came from San Diego with her grandmother to take part in the parade with the Los Angeles chapter of the Parrot Head Club.

“I think it’s like pretty amazing that all these people combine all their interests into one big event,” she said. “I’m really excited.”

Striving to be the contrarian to the Tournament of Roses Parade, which will take place nearby on New Year’s Day, the Doo Dah Parade chose a grand marshal this year who is the antithesis of theirs in renowned athlete Billie Jean King.

“I was delighted to be asked and once I understood the logic of it, I wasn’t completely surprised,” explained John “J.V.” Vorhaus, an ultimate frisbee champion who runs a pick-up game on Wednesday afternoons in Pasadena called Slacker Wednesday.

“I think Doo Dah asked, ‘What’s the furthest we can get from the pinnacle of professional sports?,’ and it landed right on Slacker Wednesday,” he said.

Asked what he appreciated about the parade, Vorhaus said it was its openness and acceptance toward everyone.

“Especially in these times, it celebrates otherness, differentness,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you are. Bring who you are and you’ll be welcome here.”

“Wouldn’t it be great if that were the ethos of not just the Doo Dah Parade, but the entire world we live in?” he said.

Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.