Doo Dah Parade Ramps Up The Royalty

The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade, celebrated by many as the irreverent counterpart to the traditional Rose Parade, has expanded its royal hierarchy while embracing Ultimate Frisbee culture for its zany antics later this month.

Organizers of the 45th annual event have created two new ceremonial positions, Royal Night and Royal Light, as ‘Guardians of the Queen,’ designed to acknowledge parade Queen runners-up and expand the royal family.

At Queen tryouts held Oct. 27 at Old Towne Pub, performers competed for expanded royal roles, including the traditional Doo Dah Queen title and the newly created Royal Night and Royal Light positions. ^[a]After five-minute performances from each candidate, judges selected Sparrow Dena as the 2024 Doo Dah Queen.

“Everything we do is in the spirit of play,” said Patricia Hurley, Managing Director of the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade. “So the word ‘formality’ doesn’t really match our intention with the Royal Night and the Royal Light.”

The parade, scheduled for a Sunday (again, running counter to the Rose Parade, which never occurs on Sunday), Nov. 24, at “11-ish” and lasting about an hour and a half, will feature comedy writer and Ultimate Frisbee champion John Vorhaus as its Grand Marshal.

“As someone who places a high value on whimsy, I relish the chance to represent the Doo Dah Parade in all its anarcho-alternative glory,” Vorhaus said.

Athleticism seems to be in play this year when it comes to local parade celebrities.

“Ultimate Frisbee is a very creative sport and not everybody’s fully aware of just how exceptional those athletes are,” Hurley said, noting the Rose Parade’s selection of tennis champion Billie Jean King as the 2025 Grand Marshall.

Vorhaus plans to fully embrace the parade’s trademark flamboyance with an elaborate costume design that reflects his sporting background and the event’s eccentric spirit.

“My costume will be heavily festooned with small and large Frisbees,” he said. “I’m working on a double-decker top hat involving multiple line discs.”

He continued: “My life philosophy can be best expressed as ‘Walk down the beach, pick up everything you find and turn it into a party hat.’ In that sense, my Grand Marshal chapeau will be ‘the party hat of a lifetime.’”

The parade, which began in 1978 at now-defunct Chromos Bar and was first televised in 1987, has earned national recognition, with Reader’s Digest once naming it “America’s Best Parade.”

“The Doo Dah is a very organic event… It’s sort of unpredictable. But on purpose. We want to keep it fresh,” Hurley explained.

The route begins at North Raymond Avenue and Holly Street, proceeds somewhat chaotically south two blocks, turns right onto W. Colorado Boulevard, and ends at the Pasadena Avenue intersection.

Attendees can access the event via Los Angeles Metro A Line to Memorial Park station.

For more about this unique Pasadena event, visit https://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info/parade-info.