Keepin' it real ... weird
The 34th Occasional Doo Dah Parade settles into its new home on city’s east side
By Carl Kozlowski 04/28/2011
As the self-proclaimed “Deputy Prime Minister” of Pasadena’s uniquely wacky Doo Dah Parade, Tom Coston took a lot of chances last year. He and the rest of the Doo Dah organizers with the nonprofit Light Bringer Project had come to believe that the parade had grown both bloated and stale, drawing in ever-bigger floats that made the event seem daunting for the average person and grassroots group to enter.
Coston and company also felt that the parade’s Old Pasadena location since its inception in the 1970s had become overexposed, and that the city’s east side now had the underdog feel and artistic vibe that gave rise to the Doo Dah. And so it was that the parade not only switched from the west to the east side of town, but even changed its usual schedule and moved from the fall to the spring.
Both moves paid off with a renewed vigor from those who attended, even though the overall figures dropped from the parade’s heyday years of 40,000 attendees to a more manageable yet equally devoted 10,000. But Coston says organizers learned a lot about how to give the Doo Dah a long-lasting second wind, and that this year the fun is roaring back with a vengeance as the 34th Occasional Doo Dah Parade hits east Pasadena’s streets from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. Saturday.
“We had lower attendance than anticipated, because we’d cooled it on publicity outside of PW and the Star-News,” says Coston. “We were a little concerned that since it was a new area that there would be parking difficulties. A lot of people probably missed it last year due to changing the date and place. Our goal is to make it work out there for entertainers, spectators and the businesses, because they really need people out there, and we expect a lot more this year, because people will be more used to it.”
Having overseen the parade for many years, Coston could easily have become jaded by the experience long ago. Yet, he maintains the kind of enthusiasm that one might expect from an awestruck first-time attendee as he reels off some of his favorite acts.
“We always like this giant barn-like structure that people swing on, and which we didn’t even think they could make the turns the first time it was around,” recalls Coston. “That’s known as Captain McHogwash and His Amazing Chundra. Another one is Boo Boo Kitty, the Giant Spitting Cat — a giant cat that a team builds, which is a big robot that rolls down the street and moves its paws and turns its head, which is amazing. They take it up to Burning Man, but they built it right here.”
Another noteworthy parade act is the “Balkan brass band” that goes by the moniker Free Range Orkestar, and the Highland Park Circuit Benders. Yet Coston’s favorite is “the flying baby high dive, where they have all these babies and have them do Olympic-style tricks in mid-air. I sure hope they’re dolls!”
One area in which the Doo Dah was more conventional this year than last is in the selection of its Doo Dah Queen. Alverno High School student Rosalind Schoen (aka “Red Rosie”) landed the title with her rendition of a 1940s song by Kay Starr called “The Man Upstairs,” during which she changed out of her Catholic schoolgirl uniform to reveal a Wonder Woman costume. She replaced Eric Valentine, who won the title last year by playing the drag character of Queen Erica Valentine.
“We switched back. We’re a little less ambiguous this year, plus she’s kind of the same age as the Rose Parade royal court, yet is a nice counterpoint to the actual Royal Court,” Coston says of Schoen. “She has Doo Dah DNA, but she doesn’t have Tournament DNA, and we’re bringing them up younger now because we’ve got to think about future generations. We’re not always going to be here,” laughs Coston.
But judging by the amount of community love it still receives each year, the Doo Dah will be here for a long time to come.
The 34th Occasional Doo Dah Parade starts at 11 a.m. Saturday at Vinedo and Nina streets, goes south on Vinedo to Colorado Boulevard, then turns west on Colorado to Altadena Drive, where it makes a u-turn and heads east on Colorado to San Gabriel Boulevard.
Those needing more information or who wish to enter the parade can sign up until Saturday at pasadendoodahparade.info.
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