Monday, November 25, 2002
Everyone is familiar with Pasadena's "Tournament of Roses" parade. Fewer people know much about Pasadena'a OTHER parade, the Doo Dah Parade. If the Tournament of Roses is all about pageantry, tradition, and corporate sponsorships, Doo Dah is about everything else. To give some perspective as to what type of event it is, in the Official Parade Guidelines it has rules specifically prohibiting you from carrying marshmellows or throwing tortillas. Basically, it's a day when all the freaks come out.
My Quirky Friedn DJ asked me if I wanted to go to the parade this year. I said. Then he asked if I wanted to march in the parade. Although I have heard of Doo Dah, I would have liked to have seen it once before figuring out what was expected of me. I was a little nervous. It didn't help that DJ told me to dress up like a carpenter. Knowing the "free-spirited" nature of the parade, I had visions of riding along on a Village People float.
As it turns out, we were marching with "Side Street Projects." They are non-profit organization that brings the arts to children. For the parade, they brought out "The Woodworking Bus". It's a converted school bus with about 10 child-sized workstations inside. They bring the bus to schools, let the kids come on board and teach them how to build thier own wooden ties. The exterior of the bus was painted in what can best be described as a cross between The Partridge Family and The Electric Mayhem.
I knew that there was no such thing as being "over the top" for Doo Dah, but at the same time I didn't want to stand out too much in a group of people I've never met. I think I did a pretty good job dressing appropriately. I went to Toys 'R Us and picked up a Fisher Price work bench and some oversized plastic tools, including a way-cool chain saw with real sound effects. They were good props to have along the parade route. I had to open the boxes of toys very carefully, because I plan on stuffing everything back in and donating them to a Christmas toy drive. So maybe these kids won't be getting perfectly brand new toys. But they'll never know the difference. And hey, at least I'm not returning them for my money back.
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My Quirky Friedn DJ asked me if I wanted to go to the parade this year. I said. Then he asked if I wanted to march in the parade. Although I have heard of Doo Dah, I would have liked to have seen it once before figuring out what was expected of me. I was a little nervous. It didn't help that DJ told me to dress up like a carpenter. Knowing the "free-spirited" nature of the parade, I had visions of riding along on a Village People float.
As it turns out, we were marching with "Side Street Projects." They are non-profit organization that brings the arts to children. For the parade, they brought out "The Woodworking Bus". It's a converted school bus with about 10 child-sized workstations inside. They bring the bus to schools, let the kids come on board and teach them how to build thier own wooden ties. The exterior of the bus was painted in what can best be described as a cross between The Partridge Family and The Electric Mayhem.
I knew that there was no such thing as being "over the top" for Doo Dah, but at the same time I didn't want to stand out too much in a group of people I've never met. I think I did a pretty good job dressing appropriately. I went to Toys 'R Us and picked up a Fisher Price work bench and some oversized plastic tools, including a way-cool chain saw with real sound effects. They were good props to have along the parade route. I had to open the boxes of toys very carefully, because I plan on stuffing everything back in and donating them to a Christmas toy drive. So maybe these kids won't be getting perfectly brand new toys. But they'll never know the difference. And hey, at least I'm not returning them for my money back.
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