Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade and parties April 30

Daring to go where no parade has gone before, this year’s Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will again bring its own brand of raucous eccentricity East, after its successful relocation last year. The 2011 Parade takes place on Saturday, April 30th, stepping off at 11am in East Pasadena along Colorado Boulevard. Last year, dozens of inventive, if zany, art cars and floats accompanied a legion of frolickers past the mom-n-pop shops along East Pasadena’s shady tree-lined streets. They will be joined this year by Grand Marshal Ron Stivers, of Poo Bah Records in Pasadena, and many first-time entries including the League of Steam, Conehead Rocket Sled, Hippie Cream, The Iceland Queen, Rancho Talavera, combined bands of the 35th Dragoon Guards, Mile High Bed, Cheesus Chrust Pizza Company, 2011 Doo Dah Queen Red Rosie of Sierra Madre, Flying Baby High Dive, and the Ladies Auxiliary for Cultural Enrichment, et.al. Known as the twisted sister of the conventional Rose Parade, the Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade began as a grassroots event in 1978 to gain national attention for its eccentric and, often, irreverent satire. The parade which has spawned numerous off-beat replicants across the country was named by Readers Digest as “America’s Best Parade,” and was recently featured in the book 50 Places You Must Visit Before You Die! This year’s spectacle will see the return of such wildly diverse entries as a fleet of motorized Kinetic Pastry Science Mobile Muffins, Captain McHogwash’s Amazing Chundra, a humungous robotic spitting cat named Boo-Boo Kitty, oddly-attired sound inventors known as The Highland Park Thursday Evening Gentlemen’s Society Circuit Bending Marching Band & Ladies’ Auxiliary, and the crowd favorite Disco Drill Team, real American Bandstanders. Yes, another Doo Dah is here to help you forget your humdrum existence! Last year’s Parade incorporated over1,000 marchers, including Dr. Steel’s Army of Toy Soldiers, Cheap Sax Addicted to Love, Her Royal Highness Queen Erica Valentine, The Martini Kings & Swing-o-matic, Linoleum Bonaparte, the World Champion Whistling Diva, Goddess of Democracy, The Pink-Slipped Pissed off Teachers, Friends and their Pissed-off Kids, Million Marijuana March, FireBrain, Evotrope, Motorized Couch, The Bra-Ettes Dancing Bras, ArtStorm, Thwop!, What Happened in Vegas Should Have Stayed, Gallery at the End of the World, Girls Who Draw Girls on Roller Skates, Classic and scary clowns, and such perennial favorites as the Men of Leisure, BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team, the immortal Doo Dah house band Snotty Scotty & the Hankies, and many more! WHAT: The 34TH OCCASIONAL PASADENA DOO DAH PARADE WHERE: Colorado Boulevard (between Altadena and San Gabriel Boulevards) in East Pasadena. WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH, Stepping off at 11:00AM! COST: Always FREE-of-charge!! Plenty of street parking is available ~ Parade route is also just west of the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line Station (at Colorado Blvd. and Sierra Madre Villa). City busses go directly to the area. Come early! Bring a lawn chair! Visit the local eateries and shops, and attend the after parties all within walking distance. Official Doo Dah After-Party: American Legion, 179 N. Vinedo St. (2 blks from Parade at Vinedo & Walnut), immediately following the event. Legendary Doo Dah House Band, Snotty Scotty and the Hankies, and Horses on Astroturf, and assorted Doo Dah Glitterati, cheap food and drinks, smoking patio, big screen TV, cash only!! (626) 792-9938. $5 cover Unofficial After Parties: Plate 38, 2361 E. Colorado Blvd. (near Sierra Madre Blvd.), Join Her Royal Majesty the Queen Red Rosie (right after the royals tie the knot!) for your post-parade lunch! American eats, including gourmet burgers, live music, $2.50 Coronas, family-friendly! Poo Bah Records, 2636 E. Colorado Blvd. (nextdoor to The Colorado Bar) will have live bands all afternoon, records, coolness, and the Grand Marshal, owner Ron Stivers!! The Colorado Bar, 2640 E. Colorado Blvd. Featuring cheap drinks, darts and pool, and the Infamous Drunk in the Garage band, immediately following the parade. For more information go: www.pasadenadoodahparade.info