The Doo Dah Parade returns to Old Pasadena, with aliens, furries, marching bands and flying babies

No, it wasn’t a fever dream, hallucination, or mass hysteria affecting Pasadenans this weekend —- the Doo Dah Parade was back.

By the hundreds, people lined the sidewalks, bars and restaurants along Colorado Boulevard Sunday, Nov. 19, to witness the return of the 44th Occasional Doo Dah Parade to Old Pasadena.

Parade-goers were witness to aliens, furries, jugglers, marching bands, flying babies and of course tortillas whizzing through the air.

For first-timers like Melanie Guzman, the parade was everything she expected, having heard about the parade and even attending a Doo Dah-inspired event in Ohio.

“It’s everything you could want in a parade and more,” she said. “Now that I’ve seen I’m going to join the next one.”

The parade, which was only virtual the last three years, featured several new acts and performers who have been in the parade for decades.

How could you go wrong with entries such as the Million Mrs. Roper March – carrying framed photos of the famed Ropers from the late 1970s-80s sitcom “Three’s Company,” or the Taco Tuesdays Bicycle Club, and the Ocean Commotion.

And, of course, there was parade Queen Natalie Flores of Los Angeles, henceforth to be known as Queen Mama’s Sunshine. And there was parade King for Live Clayton the King, among many others.

This is officially a trip! #Doodah #parade pic.twitter.com/sqXeqx0xmB

— Ryan Carter (@ryinie) November 19, 2023

The parade began in 1978, after regulars at Chromo’s Bar and Grill in Old Pasadena noticed people camped out for the Rose Parade and saw an opportunity to turn the captive audience into an eccentric tradition celebrating the irreverent.

The longtime offbeat event, which takes delight in making fun of other parades, was for decades traditionally held the weekend before Thanksgiving. But in 2020, the pandemic shut it down — much like Doo Dah’s higher-profile neighbor, the Rose Parade. Crowds simply were not able to gather.

In recent years, it moved its eccentric activities online.

The event has inspired similar parades across the country and has become a staple prelude to Pasadena’s more well known New Year’s Day parade.

#DooDah parade us back and rocking Downtown Pasadena. pic.twitter.com/Sfybe8og2O

— Ryan Carter (@ryinie) November 19, 2023

On Sunday, the ubiquitous traditional throwing of tortillas from the crowd throughout the parade was on full display. In effect, it was a tortilla fight, as the entrants themselves sometimes threw them back at the crowd.

The tortilla fights symbolized just how engaged the entrants in the parade were, often walking right up to their audience and interacting with them, sometimes giving them a free treat, or taking a selfie with them.

However, some Doo Dah veterans said the return didn’t have the same anti-Rose Parade feel that it started out with.

“It was just a bunch of people walking down the street playing with electronic things,” said Marco Delaney, who’s been watching the parade since the 70s. “There was no creativity and no real message behind it.”

Delaney said there were more vehicles than he remembers in the past, still, like most others he said he’s glad it’s back.

Narayana, a belly dancer and Doo Dah Queen of 2014, has been in every parade since its inception — making her one of only three people who have done it, by her count.

The former Queen said the parade may have been a bit smaller than past years, but predicts the move back to Old Pasadena will springboard its popularity and help it grow to even greater heights than its peak in the 90s.

“Old Pasadena is Doo Dah,” she said. “It’s only going to get bigger from here.”