The 36th not-exactly-annual Pasadena Doo-Dah Parade steps off on Colorado Boulevard between Altadena Drive and San Gabriel Boulevard in East Pasadena starting at 11 AM.
It's an Altadena-heavy parade this year, presided over by Doo-Dah Queen Suzanne Edmonds and Grand Marshal Alan Zorthian.
According to their release:
spectators will be startled and amused by Flying Baby Hammer, A Moveable Feast (based on a Hemingway novel), Ace Ketchum-Professional Vampire Fisherman, The Great Firewall of China, The LOH Down on Science (featuring NPR personality Sandra Tsing Loh), Camp Bimbo, Worlds Tallest Girl Scout, Jiffy Pop! Happy Howard's Harlequin, The Bearded Ladies, Johnny Skunkmobile, Fashion on the Fly, Drunk in the Garage Band, Zombie Training Camp, Aaroe Sign Spinners, and Dr. Steele and His Army of Toy Soldiers.
Known as the twisted sister of the conventional Rose Parade, the Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade began as a grassroots event in 1978 to gain national attention for its eccentric and, often, irreverent satire. The parade which has spawned numerous off-beat replicants across the country was named by Readers Digest as "America's Best Parade," and was recently featured in the book 50 Places You Must Visit Before You Die!
This year's spectacle will see the return of such wildly diverse entries as a fleet of motorized Kinetic Pastry Science Mobile Muffins, Captain MacHogwash's Amazing Chundra, Senior Graucho, Mile High Bed, Yippie Hippie Sixties, Million Marijuana March, The Billionaires, Sloppy Swishers, Whistling Diva Champion, Amnesty International, Blues Brothers Tribute, L.A. Derby Dolls, Pizza Oven Art Car, Vegetables, classic, scary clowns, BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, Bus Target, Howdy Krishna, Horses on Astroturf, and the immortal Doo Dah house band Snotty Scotty & the Hankies, and much more!
Plenty of street parking is available ~ Parade route is also just west of the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station (at Colorado Blvd. and Sierra Madre Villa). City buses go directly to the area.
Come early! Bring a camera and a lawn chair! Visit Robin's wood fire BBQ booth along the parade route for some all-American street food, buy a commemorative 2013 Doo Dah t-shirt and attend the after parties all within walking distance.
Official Doo Dah After-Party: American Legion, 179 N. Vinedo Ave. (2 blocks from Parade at Vinedo & Walnut), immediately following the event. Bands...cheap food and cheaper drinks!! $3.00 cover. Pizza slices all day for just $2.00!
UPDATE: Dunno about the OFFICIAL party, but Doo-Dah Queen Suzanne is having her own post-parade party at the Altadena Ale & Wine House, 2329 N. Fair Oaks Ave., starting at 3 PM (thx to Gail at the Ale House).
