Remember when you were a kid, and you'd see a big parade, and you'd think that getting to be in that parade one day would be the most amazingest, neat-o-iest thing on the planet? But you were pretty sure you'd never be allowed in the parade because the parade organizers had a super-hard entry and screening process and only a select few would be allowed?
Yeah. So that screening process, for Pasadena's Doo Dah Parade? Doesn't exist. You don't need to interview, either, to get a group together to walk in the Colorado Boulevard procession. You don't need to prove your credentials or your hoity-toity memberships or have the right resumé.
The parade is now accepting entries for the 2013 march. It's on Saturday, April 27.
The upshot? You just need ten bucks per person and a desire to delight people via your costume, performance, message, or all of the above. Because the only Doo Dah rule? "The Doo Dah rules."
There is an entry form to fill out, which should take you all of three minutes. The hardest question might be "subject and/or nature of our entry." If you put down "disco dancers in cat costumes," or something similarly brief and colorful, you're set.
If you decide not to join, you should definitely check it out at least once. It's been around for decades, sometimes changes dates, often doesn't start on time, and there's usually a vehicle breakdown or two. And onlookers wouldn't have it any other way.
It's time to live that childhood dream of being in a parade, brave person. Are you ready?
