DooThe Pasadena Doo Dah Parade “…gave me hope! It showed me that there are still fun, creative, alternative, and caring people in the world, which, given the political climate we are in, I had almost forgotten,” stated first timer Yvette Wojciechowski at the end of this year’s festivities.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Initiated 45 years ago as the antithesis to the traditions of its older sister the Rose Parade, Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade is part high wire circus act, a dab of political theater, a dollop of witty sarcasm and an abundance of seismic creativity.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Not a rose was harmed in the madcap enterprise of over 100 zany entries this year, but hundreds of tortillas were sacrificed on the pagan streets of Raymond Ave. and Colorado Blvd. in a public display of affection and low blood sugar.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
In stark contrast to the Rose Parade, which features the well-publicized achievements of professional athletes, actors and celebrities in its Grand Marshall role, the Doo Dah Parade’s organizers, selected Ultimate Frisbee Hall of Famer John “JV” Vorhaus as this year’s Grand Marshall.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Vorhaus captured the attention of the parade’s judges by coordinating an ultimate frisbee pickup game each week called ‘Slacker Wednesday’. Appropriately, he was joined by an Honor Guard of “slackers” who tossed frisbees into the crowd along the route.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Where else on the planet might you find the cornucopia of artistic endeavors that includes a Royal Court that featured Queen Sparrow Dena serenading the public with her angelic voice accompanied by a ukulele? Sparrow described the joy of the experience as “Just being able to yell and sing my heart song. My whole set list was only songs that I have memorized, I didn’t use any music; I just wrote down all the songs that I knew by heart and that is what I sang today.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
In an age when ‘creative placekeeping’ has become de rigor in spaces for community driven artistic development, there is deeper meaning to a parade that enables people to dream of what they could be or who they might become, without judgement or risk. The US Department of Arts and Culture defines ‘creative placekeeping’ “…as the active care and maintenance of a place and its social fabric by the people who live and work there.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Driven by the Light Bringer Project, a local nonprofit organization that is led by an accordion player who was once named the city’s ‘Chief Merrymaker’, the Doo Dah Parade embodies the USDAC’s vision for maintaining cultural memories while enabling local artists to explore their creativity. “We have taken away this boundary between viewer and participant,” muses Tom Coston, Light Bringer’s Executive Director, “Everyone gets to participate.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Ridiculousness is in the forefront of the event with groups such as The Million Mrs. Roper March, The Underwater Undead, Shag Party Band, Stop Drop and Disco, the Paraders of the Found Snark, and the Wookiee rock band Rocka Chewbacca.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
As Rocka Chewbacca lead singer Tony Arratia describes, “You know, especially this year I think the way things went for a lot of people in 2024 is that they needed to blow off a lot of steam and, frankly, just to be weird.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Even so, the secret sauce of the parade is its ability to be counterculture in a way that is mainstream. The spaces are few and far between where we can enjoy the spontaneous joy of hilarious tomfoolery, particularly during an era when most any social activity is politicized or criticized.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Imagine being in a space where oddities were the norm, like having the Addams Family’s Uncle Fester boil water on his head and illuminate a light bulb in his mouth as Charles F. DelValle of Twentynine Palms has been doing since 1995.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
For Queen Sparrow the beauty of the parade is “The connection that is made between people who feel a need to express themselves in ways that are deemed unacceptable by others.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
Where are the places in our society where everyone is welcome, no matter how they appear, even if you are a Wookiee rock n’roller, a member of the Gay Freedom Band, or an aging Ultimate Peace Hippie from the 60’s. “I think it is the energy, the excitement, the people are just so genuine and nice and accepting. I mean at Doo Dah you accept everybody for all their gloriousness, glamor and creativity,” observed long-time participant ‘King James’ Casey about the magic of moment. “With Doo Dah everyone can be who they want to be, even if it is just for one day.”
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
How might we extend the essence of the inclusionary posture of the Doo Dah Parade into our day-to-day lives? Art influences social constructs to the point where there are shifts in consciousness as the result of exposure to extraordinary moments of imagination. So don’t be surprised if you see a few women dressed as Helen Roper shopping at the mall, a couple of Wookiees jamming in a local park, or frisbee players practicing ultimate in the Target parking lot in the coming weeks.
Living Local | Pasadena: The Doo Dah Parade ’24, Magical Mayhem and Hope in Hard Times, Photo Credit: Brian Biery
