Doo Dah Parade Canceled, Organizers Cite Health Guidelines

Pasadena’s other parade will not be held this year according to an announcement made on Wednesday.

“Due to current health guidelines, the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will be postponed until next year. While many people are disappointed and will miss this year’s event, the unique ‘Other Parade’ will return in full color in 2022.”

The Occasional Doo Dah parade as it is known began as a satirical take on the Rose Parade, but now is a revered local tradition.

The parade is held about once a year and began in 1977 after some friends gathering at the now-defunct Chromo’s Bar conceived the idea and decided to hold the alternative parade on Sunday Jan. 1, 1978.

The Rose Parade was not held on New Years Day that year due to traditions that prohibit the Rose Parade being held on Sundays.

Although it started out mocking the Rose Parade, the Doo Dah Parade has since caught on and established its own identity and fanbase.

The times and locations of the Doo Dah Parade have changed, with the event moving from Old Pasadena to East Pasadena in 2010. Although held on Sunday for many years, today the parade is held on Saturdays in East Pasadena.

Early acts included a lawn mower drill team, the Synchronized Briefcase Drill Team, The Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin, the Claude Rains Invisible Man Marching Drill Team and the Committee for the Right to Bear Arms, a group that carried mannequin arms along the parade route.

The parade has inspired copycats in such places as Columbus, Ohio, Ocean City, New Jersey, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.