Attack of the flying tortillas at the Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena!
Written by Te-Ericka Patterson
Can you suggest a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than hanging out in Pasadena with thousands of kooky strangers celebrating the art of being weird? I can’t and I DID yesterday at the 37th Occasional Doo Dah Parade. Participants in the Doo Dah Parade were charged with one mission: Join us in being silly for no reason.
The Doo Dah Parade, organized as a spoof of the annual Rose Parade was one of the most superfluous yet vital Los Angeles experiences. As a woman on the grind, hustling hard core for my future I rarely take the time to just laugh and be silly. Yesterday’s parade, marching up and down E. Colorado Boulevard, required both, giving me the push I needed to recharge and appreciate the beauty of life.
I laughed until my cheeks hurt as parade watchers tossed tortillas at the floats. I cackled and doubled over giggling when a man walked by with a microphone singing gibberish with a smile. The question of the day seemed to be: How can I out-weird hundreds of other parade participants? They all tried and they succeeded, not only in creating some of the most creative parade floats I have ever seen (check out the photo of the convertible pool) but also in offering the community a chance to come together and share in something beautiful, for no reason at all.
Rumor has it this may be the last Doo Dah Parade. I really hope not. With all of the mayhem in the world, it is bright spots like this that really make life worth living.
All photos by Te-Erika Patterson, exclusively for the LA Beat.
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- What? What’s going on here?
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- Huh? I thought this was a- Never mind.
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- A convertible POOL! Cool!
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- Is this a dream or is there a man in a coma participating in a parade?
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- You can’t help but smile at the Doo Dah Parade.
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- Attack of the flying tortillas!
