Pasadena’s Counterculture Refuses to Retreat, This Year’s Canceled Doo Dah Parade Morphs

For 47 years, Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade has existed as the city’s rebellious answer to the Rose Parade—a celebration where the Synchronized Nap Team and Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin march past crowds throwing tortillas and marshmallows. After January’s wildfires forced the parade’s cancellation this year due to financial devastation, its community of artists and eccentrics said they will stage what they call “The Doo Dah Takeover” on November 23rd, transforming the would-be parade day into a defiant celebration of survival.

The Doo Dah emerged in 1978 when a group of local friends and artists at former Pasadena haunt Chromo’s Bar and Grill created what they deliberately designed as the antithesis of the formal Tournament of Roses Parade. Where the Rose Parade demanded themes, judging, and exclusivity, the Doo Dah’s founders championed the idea of having no theme, no judging, and welcoming anyone who wanted to participate—everything the Rose Parade was not. The founders explicitly conceived it as an irreverent alternative for people who felt excluded from Pasadena’s marquee event.

This year’s financial crisis couldn’t kill that founding spirit.

“Doo Dah has always been about resilience, creativity, and good-natured chaos,” said Light Bringer Project’s Thomas Coston in a September 25, 2025 announcement. “Even when the parade can’t roll, the spirit of Doo Dah refuses to be cancelled, so we’ll rock instead!”

The Sunday, November 23, 2025 takeover splits into two parts: “Doo Dah’s Big Bang!” runs from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Dog Haus Biergarten on Big Bang Theory Way, featuring an alley-side cabaret with performances from what organizers call the “unusual suspects” of Doo Dah lore. MA the Band and The Rock and Roll Preservation Society will provide live music.

The afternoon will include the crowning of the 2025 Doo Dah Queen—a tradition that, true to form, picks winners for wit or originality rather than any traditional merit. Queen hopeful sign-ups begin at 11:00 a.m. with tryouts starting at 12:00 p.m. followed by the coronation ceremony.

The celebration continues at The Old Towne Pub from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a 21-and-over after party featuring Ashton Slater’s Grateful Get-Down with their psychedelic spin on live jams, “And MORE to be Announced!”

Both November 23rd events are free and open to the public, though the after party restricts attendance to those 21 and older.

Complete information is available at https://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info.