The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is a popular farcical and flamboyant parade held in Pasadena, California about once a year, usually in the fall or winter. Reverence by imitation, now occurs with irreverence in Columbus, Ohio and Ocean City, New Jersey Doo Dah Parades.
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The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade contains a wide variety of music and acts, with charity spreading out.
Conceived in 1978[1] by several friends, including Peter Apanel, Ted Wright, Charles "Skip" Finnell, among others, sitting in a bar called "Chromo's" (which no longer exists) in Pasadena,[2] as an irreverent alternative to the traditional formality of the Rose Parade,[1] which is also held in Pasadena. In 1978, January 1 fell on a Sunday, and the Rose Parade, which typically takes place on January 1, will not march on a Sunday. So they decided it would be fun to have an alternate parade on January 1 that year.[2] Some of the early participants were Wright as first Grand Marshal, Snotty Scotty and the Hankies, the Lawn Mower Drill Team, the Briefcase Drill Team and General Hershey Bar, among many others. It was the first Pasadena Doo Dah Parade.
The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade today features absurd and unique participants such as the BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, the Shopping Cart Drill Team, the Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin, the Men of Leisure Synchronized Nap Team, the Marching Lumberjacks, Dr. Steel's Army of Toy Soldiers, Claude Rains & the 20-Man Memorial Invisible Man Marching Drill Team, Count Smokula, and the Committee for the Right to Bear Arms, a group that marches in precise formations while carrying mannequin arms. Snotty Scotty and the Hankies is still the official band. Many groups participate in the Doo Dah Parade as a fundraising effort for various charities. In 2010 the parade was moved to May 1, and also moved from Old Pasadena to East Pasadena.[3] This Parade has spawned many others like it.
A popular Doo Dah Parade takes Place in Columbus, Ohio. The Columbus Doo Dah Parade was inspired by the Pasadena event and began in 1983 as a small, disorganized march down the sidewalks of High Street in The Short North by regulars of the Short North Tavern. The Columbus Doo Dah Parade takes place yearly on the Fourth of July (rain date, July 3) in the Short North and Victorian Village neighborhoods of Columbus. The parade route begins on Park Street near Goodale Park and ends at the Short North Tavern.
One of the most popular and longest-running participant groups is the Marching Fidels, a group dressed like Fidel Castro who take siestas along the parade route and conscript bystanders into the Cuban army, dressing them in camouflage and "forcing" them to march in the parade. Also featured are the Emperor of the Short North and the King and Queen of DooDah. In recent years, participants have included groups such as the Fishnet Mafia, the Wilber Hills Country Club, Feature Creatures Haunted Acting Troupe of Central Ohio, Deri Air, the Ohio Roller Girls, and the Doo Dah Band. Judging takes place along the route and participants bribe judges to vote for their entries. Prizes for Best and Worst Entries are rewarded with gift certificates to Short North businesses.
A long-running parade, in Ocean City, New Jersey, is held every April (usually on the Saturday after Tax Day) on the New Jersey shore. The Ocean City DooDah Parade originally took place in Pitman, New Jersey, but migrated closer to the ocean a couple of years later. The route starts from 6th Street and goes down Asbury Avenue through downtown Ocean City, turns east on 12th Street and then proceeds up the boardwalk, ending at the historic Music Pier.
OC's parade is billed as a salute to humor and comedy, featuring impersonators of Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Abbott & Costello and many other classic movie stars. Celebrity comedians and TV stars have served as Grand Marshall in this parade, including Joan Rivers, Joe Franklin, Larry Storch, Mickey Rooney, Soupy Sales, Bill Dana, Captain Noah and many others. After his grand marshall appearance, legendary kids' TV host Soupy Sales became a regular guest at DooDah and following the parade, was honored by presiding over the "Pieasco" in which participants are invited to toss shaving cream pies at each other, just like the ones Soupy got hit with on his classic show. All parade participants receive a free commemorative t-shirt and hot dog courtesy of sponsor Dietz & Watson.
Other parade regulars include "Trash Buster" (played by chief DooDah organizer Mark Soifer from Ocean City's Community Affairs department), "Underdog Lady" Suzanne Muldowny, the "Wizard of Odd", the Pitman NJ Hobo Band, kids radio host Kathy O'Connell, and hundreds of dogs taking part in the annual Bassett Hound Waddle as part of the weekend's festivities. Also appearing are the costume character host and friends of the New York City cable & Internet TV show "Rapid T. Rabbit and Friends".
The parade recognizes those who support humor and entertainment that appear in the DooDah Parade by giving out award plaques in a ceremony at the Music Pier immediately at the conclusion of the march. The "Golden Hot Dog" award is given to those entertainers from the NJ/PA/NY area. The "Double Doggy DooDah Glutton-For-Punishment Award" is given to anyone who appears in the Ocean City Parade after being in any other DooDah Parade elsewhere in the country. Rapid T. Rabbit was the first such award recipient in 1995 after having marched in the Pasadena parade in the early 90s, and has also since appeared in the parades at Columbus, Ohio and Illion NY.