Doo Dah Parade
The Doo Dah Parade is a popular farcical and flamboyant parade held in Pasadena, California on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Founded in 1976 as a response to the traditional formality of the Rose Parade, which is also held in Pasadena, the Doo Dah Parade features absurd parade participants like the BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, The Shopping Cart Drill Team, The Bastard Sons of Lee Marvin, The Men of Leisure Synchronized Nap Team, The Marching Lumberjacks, Claude Rains & the 20-Man Memorial Invisible Man Marching Drill Team, and the Committee for the Right to Bear Arms, a group which marches in precise formations while carrying mannequin arms. Many groups participate in the Doo Dah Parade as a fundraising effort for various charities.
Columbus Parade
Another popular Doo Dah Parade takes Place in Columbus, Ohio.
The Columbus Doo Dah Parade was inspired by the Pasadena event and began in 1983 as a small, disorganized march down the sidewalks of High Street in The Short North by regulars of the Short North Tavern. The Columbus Doo Dah Parade takes place annually on the Fourth of July (rain date July 3rd) in The Short North and Victorian Village neighborhoods of Columbus. The parade route begins on Park Street near Goodale Park and ends at the Short North Tavern.
One of the most popular and longest-running participant groups is the "Marching Fidels," a group of men and women dressed like Fidel Castro who take siestas along the parade route and conscribe bystanders into the Cuban army, dressing them in camouflage and forcing them to march in the parade. Also featured are the Emperor of the Short North and the King and Queen of DooDah. In recent years the participants have also included groups such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Wilber Hills Country Club, Deri Air, the Ohio Roller Girls, and the Doo Dah Band. Judging takes place along the route and participants bribe judges to vote for their entries. Prizes for best and worst entries are rewarded with gift certificates to Short North businesses.