Sunday, October 25, 2026

Go Kooky for the Doo Dah Crown

2024 Doo Dah Parade Royal Night Catch-22 and 2024 Doo Dah Parade Royal Light Helen Roper at the Dooh Dah Queen tryouts at the Old Towne Pub on Oct. 27, 2024. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Ever wanted to wear a crown without the inconvenience of a bloodline?

Doo Dah has never cared about pedigree, poise or sensible shoes — only nerve. Pasadena’s irreverent tradition has celebrated the gloriously odd since 1978, and every reign needs an heir.

Enter the Doo Dah Queen Tryouts at Old Towne Pub in Old Pas, where hopefuls get three minutes apiece to win the room. Sing, dance or crack jokes. Elaborate costumes are encouraged, and the crown is open to every gender and orientation. Birds, dogs and lizards have competed in years past, so the bar sits somewhere between Broadway and the backyard.

Best to leave the kids — and your sanity — at home for this one.

Sign-ups and live music from Ma the Band start at 2 p.m. The competition kicks off at 3 p.m., with Rocket Man emceeing and former queens expected in the house. Reigning Queen Bootleg Meg crowns her successor ahead of the Nov. 22 Doo Dah. Light Bringer Project and the Doo Dah Preservation Society produce, admission is free (read: no excuses) and donations are welcome.

A little lineage for the newcomers. Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena nonprofit, has steered Doo Dah since 1995. After 2020 and 2021 went virtual, the whole glorious circus returned to Old Pasadena in 2023, with Queen Mama’s Sunshine wearing the crown that year.

The pub knows the drill. Tryouts landed here on Oct. 27, 2024, when Sparrow Dena took the crown and two new titles joined the court: Royal Night, won by Romo the Robo, and Royal Light, claimed by a contestant performing as Helen Roper. Performances ran five minutes back then. This year’s slots are a tighter three, so edit accordingly.

Then came a year that asked more of everyone. Citing wildfire-related pressures and uncertainty over education funding, organizers postponed the 2025 street parade. Doo Dah refused to sit out entirely. On Nov. 23, 2025, the faithful took over Dog Haus Biergarten and Old Towne Pub, and Meghan Kanyer, better known as Bootleg Meg, won the crown on her first try.

Which brings us to Sunday. At the 2024 tryouts, a Pasadena contestant named Kitty Donahue asked the question every Doo Dah hopeful already knows the answer to: “Where else can I be weird?” Here, on a three-minute clock. Whoever claims the crown carries it into Doo Dah’s Nov. 22 date, with details still to come.

Find the Holly Street entrance, bring your boldest wig and practice the wave — your public awaits.

Old Towne Pub, 66 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena (enter at 34 Holly St.), Sunday, Oct. 25, sign-ups and music 2 p.m., competition 3 p.m., free (donations welcome), pasadenadoodah@gmail.com, 626-590-1134