‘Sparrow Dena’ Selected as 2024 Doo Dah Parade Queen

1. A Dooh Dah Queen hopeful auditions at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Audience at the Dooh Dah Queen hopeful auditions at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Doo Dah Royal Ballot at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2017 Doo Dah Parade Queen Imani speaks onstage at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2023 Doo Dah Parade Queen Natalie Flores performs onstage at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2024 Doo Dah Parade Royal Light Helen Roper is crowned at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2024 Doo Dah Parade Royal Night Catch-22 and 2024 Doo Dah Parade Royal Light Helen Roper at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2024 Doo Dah Parade Queen Sparrow Dena is crowned at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

2024 Doo Dah Parade Queen Sparrow Dena at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Past Doo Dah Parade Queens at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Doo Dah Parade organizer Tom Coston of Light Bringer Project at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

A Sparrow will lead the 2024 Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade on its wacky jaunt through Old Pasadena on Sunday, November 24. Sparrow Dena, a Pasadena resident, won the coveted Doo Dah Queen title on Sunday afternoon during a raucous tryout session at the Old Towne Pub, unofficial pubquarters for the event.

The deliberately absurd parade originally began in 1978, as an anti-parade “alternative” to the New Year’s Day Rose Parade. It was conceived by a group of friends at the former Chromos Bar, with Peter Apanel serving as the original “Czar of Parade.” The parade was first televised in 1987, gaining national recognition.

This year’s Doo Dah Parade will feature about 90 or so entries, including wacky art cars and floats, eccentrics, singers, unsingers, disruptors, poets, political pundits, artists, lone wolves and steampunks, floating, riding, or marching, or driving, or walking, or skipping past shops and restaurants and thousands of spectators.

Sunday, about a dozen contestants vied for the coveted crown, urged on by a barroom full of friends, barflies, the other contestants, and nearly a dozen former queens who eventually met in a secret alley confab to decide the winner.

Among the contestants were a bearded dragon lizard and its “consort,” a woman who read a passage from 50 Shades of Grey, a mermaid, and Anna and Hannah, “twins” conjoined by a pigtail.

Last year’s queen Natalie Flores sang “Tomorrow” from “Annie,” before another former Queen, also named Queen Natalie, announced two new additions to the court—Helen Roper, who was selected as a Royal Light, and “Romo the Robo,” who was selected as the Royal Night.

“I feel amazing,” said Queen Dena. “I can’t believe I got this, so I’m a little overwhelmed with emotion.”

Asked about a message to her subjects around the world, Queen Dena said, “I want to spread art to everybody, whether that be visual art, written art, or musical art. It’s a way for people to express themselves, and therefore other people feel less alone in the world, because of what everybody is going through, and I think that art is a very important form of expression.”

All of Saturday’s contestants will participate in the parade as part of the Doo Dah Royal Court.

Unlike traditional parades, Doo Dah is known for its lack of formal themes or prizes. The event’s signature elements include tortilla throwing and unique participants like the BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team. It often serves as a fundraising opportunity for various charities.

The parade will make its way through Old Pasadena on Sunday, November 24 stepping off at 11:30 a.m.

The parade route starts at Raymond Ave. and Holly Street, proceeding south for two blocks before turning right onto Colorado Blvd. It will conclude at Pasadena Ave., maintaining its traditional route through Old Pasadena.

The parade’s return to Old Pasadena in 2023, after a period in East Pasadena, marked a return to its roots. The event was briefly interrupted in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in November 2023.

For more visit https://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info/