Before the parade started this guy walked along the 2 block long parade route and did a warm-up of the crowd.
Launched 41 years ago as a send-up of the oh-so-serious Tournament of Roses parade, the PasadenaDooDah parade has been wacky and chaotic from the start. The Briefcase Marching Band is probably the most famous entrant in those early Doo Dah days.
What struck me most as I watched in 2018 was the individual creativity — unlike the cosplay stuff that goes on at ComicCon and other similar events that Millennials adore, but is not very creative. Cosplay is just copying. How much more fun are the two Sugar Plum Faeries and their junior size Nutcrackers at the top of this page!
Lady Godiva was the Queen this year
Okay. Enough of this rant. Now on to the Doo Dah parade for 2018. I am splitting this post in half and the next one will include photos of the Doo Dah Queen who, in the spirit of Lady Godiva, rode a white horse in the parade. Her skin-color body suit was decorated with strategically placed purple embellishments, so no shocking nudity. Other wore less revealing costumes. Here, in no particular order, are a lot of other photos of the 2018 parade.
Leading the parade was this bagpipe group, here rehearsing “Camptown Races”, the music they played at the beginning of the parade. Why Camptown Racer? Because the name “Doo Dah” is in the lyrics!
Why wear clothes when you can wear plastic tubes in neon colors? The lady on the right apparently belonged to one of the marching bands.. The Christmas ornament on her hat is a nice touch as is the Santa on top of the hat to the left.
While I ranted about cosplay, I have to tip my hat to Burning Man, a very creative festival. Can’t make it the desert festival? Well come to the Doo Dah parade!
Loved these yellow outfits of this couple marching in the parade. You don’t need a sponsor to be in the parade. But it’s a good idea to have a costume of some kind.
I haven’t a clue as to what this giant figure represented. Pretty impressive however.
All dressed up and waiting for the parade to begin.
A close-up of the Cry Baby Buick art car. Damaged Barbies are the preferred decorative element.
Some might call this politically incorrect. Others call it an art car. It’s called “Cry Baby Buick”.
Let’s hear it for rock ‘n’ roll bands and a lead singer with bleached blonde hair! During the parade 3 different bands performed on the stage as the “float” rolled round and round the 2 block long parade route. So if you can’t make it to Coachella, here is an alternative!
One of the bands performing at the Mobile Music Festival. I think this “float” was sponsored by a local bar. Instead of bleached blonde hair one guy in this band wore a red wig.
If you have rock music bands, then you have to have groupies and followers. These carry signs of the times.
As the parade draws to an end after two or three times around the 2 block long parade route, marchers drift from one group to another. All order, such as it is, disappears. Those white circle things on the street are tortillas. The custom is to throw tortillas at the parade participants and some participants throw them back at the crowd. No one seemed to throw marshmallows this year. They are more difficult to clean up than tortillas.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
One thought on “Creative chaos at the Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena”
Comments are closed.