The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is a popular farcical and flamboyant parade held in Pasadena, California. It was conceived in 1978 as an irreverent alternative to the traditional formality of Pasadena’s famed Rose Parade. It is held about once a year, usually in the fall or winter, although in recent years it has moved to the nearest Saturday to May Day. The event has spawned offshoots in Columbus, Ohio, Ocean City, New Jersey, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Norfolk, Virginia.
The parade was started by Peter Apanel, Ted Wright, Charles ‘Skip’ Finnell, Corky Peterson, and Richard Caputo, sitting in a bar called Chromos in Pasadena, with input from Alice McIntosh of The Red Shoes Dancewear store next door. 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 alternative parade on January 1 that year. It was the first Doo Dah Parade. Peter Apanel became the Czar of Parade and organized and oversaw all the parades through Doo Dah 19.
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The Daily Omnivore 