Hit Parades : Organizer Peter Apanel Reports 140 Units Ready to Launch the Holidays at Fun-Filled Doo Dah

Peter Apanel has retired his pink leather shoes with the stars that he wore in the first Doo Dah parade, but he hasn’t given up the parade. In fact, it is now his full-time job.

Since Apanel started Doo Dah in Pasadena 10 years ago as an irreverent parody of the Rose Parade, the offbeat event has grown remarkably in participants and audience. From 63 entries to 140. From 4,000 spectators to about 40,000.

Many of the entrants return yearly to the parade, among them the OriginalSynchronized Briefcase Drill Team, the parade’s official band, the Lake Arrowhead Resorts Precision Snow Shovel Drill Team, the Pen Clicking Band and the Balletwinos.

The parade has also gained a certain amount of respectability. Doo Dah is now supported by many merchants and restaurateurs in Pasadena’s Old Town, has its own official Doo Dah beer, and is the subject of an exhibit at the prestigious Pasadena Historical Society.

Patience Paid Off

Even Apanel’s pink shoes are on display in “A Decade of Doo Dah” (through Jan. 31) at the 82-year-old Walnut Street mansion that serves as the society’s headquarters.

“It’s a case of my having to be patient, and it has now paid off,” said Apanel, 36, who did public relations work before deciding to go full time with his parade this year.

“Now they realize the parade is something pretty good,” he said. “The merchants are getting more interested, and the restaurants do really well (on parade day). One restaurant owner said his brunch on parade day surpassed Mother’s Day and Easter.”

Apanel said he now encourages the businesses in the area to promote the parade and advises representatives of other cities on how to put together a parade like the Doo Dah.

“Basically, I know, despite the fact that some people still don’t like it, there is plenty of support for Doo Dah out there,” Apanel said. Several local businesses have entries in the parade, and many stores and restaurants in Old Pasadena have gone all out for Doo Dah this year with a series of special events.

On Friday, there was a Tournament of Toys parade, an unveiling of Christmas window designs by area merchants, events for children, a vintage-car parade

and special exhibitions at area art galleries.

Today, a food and music fair begins at 11 a.m. at the Pasadena Marketplace, featuring wines from 10 California wineries and foods from 40 restaurants, along with strolling entertainers. Tickets are $5 per person and proceeds go to four local charities: Five Acres Boys and Girls Aid Society in Altadena, Pasadena Art Workshops, Pasadena Heritage and Union Station. The event lasts until 11 p.m.

Fashion Shows, Charity Run

Two fashion shows are also on today’s agenda, one from 3 to 4 p.m. featuring daytime fashions, the other, with evening apparel, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Both will be held at Jake’s restaurant parking lot.

Sunday morning, before the noon kickoff of the Doo Dah parade, is a 5K charity run called “Be a Doo Dah Runner.” It begins at 8 a.m. at Colorado Boulevard and Arroyo Parkway.

“Until this year, we’ve gotten more recognition elsewhere, from all over the country, than we have here,” Apanel said. “Here it’s been kind of taken for granted.”

In addition to being the one-man parade committee, Apanel also sells Doo Dah T-shirts and sweat shirts, caps and pins. His official parade program sells for 50 cents.

The $10-per-person entry fee for the parade mostly goes to cover the costs of putting it on, police traffic control and security, cleanup, insurance, printing, etc., Apanel said.

Made Parade a Business

“I saved my money and quit my job in May,” Apanel said. “It was time to make a decision. I couldn’t do the job and the parade at the same time. I am at an entrepreneurial age, so I decided to go into business for myself. Now that I’m turning it into my vocation, I hope I’ll have even more fun doing it.”

Apanel said he thought up the idea for the parade while sitting in Chromo’s bar in Old Pasadena with friends. He came up with the name Doo Dah from a record by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, an English group from the 1960s.

In the past few years, Apanel has taken to riding a bike along the parade route instead of walking--making sure the entries are moving smoothly down the route.

“I’ve learned to be much more functional over the years,” he said. “Now I use my blue bicycle and wear comfortable shoes. Those pink ones were great, except I had huge blisters after the parade ended.”

Apanel believes the Doo Dah has been so successful “because it pokes fun at the most sacred institution in town (the Rose Parade) without being mean-spirited. . . . It’s also a case of people needing a day, enjoying a day when they can be kind of screwballs.”