DOO DAH THRIVES ON IRREVERENCE.Byline: Samantha Gonzaga Staff Writer Here's a trick you won't find a potential Tournament of Roses Queen doing to win the crown - at least we don't think so. ``I bribed them, showed my boobs. How could I lose?'' says this year's Doo Dah queen, Mercy Powell. But behaving badly Behaving Badly is a thoroughbred racing mare born on April 5, 2001 in New York and a top sprinting distaffer. Sired by Pioneering, a Mr. Prospector son (going back to Secretariat), out of Timeleighness (by Sir Raleigh), she was bred by Thomas and Lakin, and owned by Patti and Hal J. - that's certainly in keeping with the 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 , which spoofs that grand old tradition of New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. , the Tournament of Roses Parade The Tournament of Roses Parade was established, and first held, on January 1,1890, in Pasadena, California, eight miles (13 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. Rooted in tradition, this parade is broadcast on multiple television networks, watched by upwards of one . The participants in Doo Dah, which kicks off at 11:30 a.m. today in Pasadena with a royal court and more than 100 marching groups, believe the more shocking and sillier, the better. Powell's royal court includes a 17-year-old opera singer who pairs German librettos with a punk rock guitar solo; a failed Rose Court contender whose one-liners are like honeyed hon·eyed v. A past tense and a past participle of honey. adj. also hon·ied 1. Containing, full of, or sweetened with honey. 2. Ingratiating; sugary: honeyed words. knives; a belly dancer who uses two swords in her routine, though she has yet to learn how to swallow one; and two naughty 1980s enthusiasts who were only toddlers when Madonna was still like a virgin. ``A lot of the spirit of the Doo Dah Parade is controversy and spontaneity,'' says Patricia Hurley, the parade organizer. When the 1978 Rose Parade was delayed a day because Jan. 1 fell on a Sunday, an impromptu throng of colorfully and outrageously dressed friends marched the parade route. It became a yearly grass-roots campaign. Soon the parade was covered by newspapers and TV stations, bringing a different sort of attention to Pasadena. The Light-Bringer Project, a nonprofit community culture and arts foundation, took it over in 1995. Doo Dah remains a parody of Rose Parade pageantry. Organizers also strive to maintain the humor. In that spirit, meet the royal court. Queen Mercy Powell You've already read about how Powell beat the competition. Just in case that didn't work, she slipped homemade counterfeit cash - with her beaming smile on the bills - to judges, 25 former Doo Dah queens and Doo Dah grand marshals. She can also sing. ``I bring some serious lungs into the court,'' says Powell, 40. ``I sing from the bottom of my feet. I've been bringing music to this town for a long time.'' She has been part of the Pasadena music scene for more than a decade. Her gigs have taken her to Old Town pubs and led to a band, Mercy and the Merkettes. She works during the day as an accountant for Sony Music. Between talking about remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling her 1920s house and her fondness for that era, her line of conversation inevitably leads to music. ``It's saved me many times, and opened my eyes to a bigger world,'' she says. ``Life is short, but art is long.'' Kate Swartz Swartz looks like a real Rose Queen. In fact, she tried out for the spot, but lost. She gave Doo Dah a try at the urging of family friends, and auditioned with the song ``I'm the Best'' to the tune of Disney's ``Be Our Guest.'' A senior at Westridge School For other uses, see Westridge (disambiguation). Westridge School is a private, independent day school for college-bound girls located in Pasadena, California. The school was founded in 1913 by noted Greene and Greene architect and teacher Mary Lowther Ranney. for Girls in Pasadena, 17-year-old Swartz divides her time between college shopping, running the school paper and organizing assemblies. ``While I respect the Rose Court, Pasadena isn't all snobby snob n. 1. One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as social inferiors and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as social superiors. 2. little rich girls,'' she says. ``It's people who are funny, with a lot of good humor Noun 1. good humor - a cheerful and agreeable mood amiability, good humour, good temper humour, mood, temper, humor - a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling; "whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time"; . It's the different people who make Pasadena.'' Octavia Sisley and Jessie Barry Sisley and Barry are marching at the parade as a microcosmic court: queen (Sisley) and princess (Barry). This isn't Sisley's first time as part of a royal entourage. At 13, she marched with other girls alongside former Doo Dah Queen Mary Queen Mary, Queen Marie, or Queen Maria may refer to: Queens Britain England
``Doo Dah is creativity,'' says Sisley, 19. ``It's a lot of energy, positivity. We want to make Mary Jean proud.'' And no, she doesn't dress like this all time, uncrossing her legs under a painfully short apron-dress paired with black thigh-high stockings and 3-inch platform heels. They're reserved for 1980s clubs. ``We love the '80s, even if we were just 4 or 5 then,'' she says. ``We love the songs.'' Michelle Mills Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Michelle Mills first tried out for the Doo Dah Parade three years ago. She's been part of the parade ever since, though she has yet to wear the crown. This year, she sword-danced for judges and fielded cheeky questions about swallowing. Mills, a resident of Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga (răn`chō k  'kəmäng`gə), city (1990 pop. 101,409), San Bernardino co., S Calif. , co-hosts the cable show ``G-Man's Freak Show,'' shown on the public access channel of AT&T Cable in places like La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs, city (1990 pop. 15,520), Los Angeles co., SW Calif., inc. 1957. The city lies in an oil and natural gas region and has diversified manufacturing. ; runs the music Webzine A magazine published on the Web. Pronounced "web-zeen," and also called a "zine." See e-zine. http://dabelly.com; and belly dances professionally. Mills is working on obtaining a pilot's license, and plans to someday fly over Alaska. Mia Campagna ``Fear'' is Mia Campagna's middle name. Really. ``Filomena Elizabeth Ashe Ricceli'' spells FEAR. ``My parents didn't even know,'' says Campagna, 17. ``All the names All the Names (Portuguese: Todos os nomes) is a novel by Portuguese author José Saramago. It was written in 1997 and published in English in 2000 in an award winning translation by Margaret Jull Costa. don't fit in the Social Security card.'' Campagna was born to Italian and French parents. She flavors her sentences with choice foreign words, capisce? And she understands enough of both languages, merci. During her audition, she interrupted her own opera performance with a jarring guitar riff. ``If people will eat crap like pop and like it, I could do traditional opera and punk and get kids into both,'' she says. Campagna graduated a year early from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA or Arts High) is a public high school that operates on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles. Though it shares facilities with the university, the two schools' activities tend to be separate. , where she was active in its performing arts department as costumer, set designer and singer. ``You know when you're looking around your spare-change tray, looking through those pennies?'' she says. ``I'm that quarter that makes it enough.'' 27TH ANNUAL PASADENA DOO DAH PARADE Where: Streets of Old Pasadena historic district, starting at Holly and Raymond to Colorado Boulevard and ending at Pasadena Avenue. When: 11:30 a.m. today. Tickets: Free. For information, go to www.pasadenadoodahparade.com. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion