Doo Dah Skips the Street Again This Year. Here's What Old Pasadena Has Planned Instead, From CicLAvia to Holly Street.

The corner of Raymond Avenue and Holly Street was the starting line for the 45th Pasadena Doo Dah Parade in November 2024. From there the procession went south to Colorado Boulevard and west to Pasadena Avenue. This month, Doo Dah is back on Holly Street, but there's no procession. On Sunday, November 22, the crew behind it is holding the Doo Dah Love-In at the Memorial Park Bandshell, 85 E. Holly Street, on the same street where the 2024 parade set off.

The Love-In falls in the middle of a two-week run that Old Pasadena has tied together for the first time. The Old Pasadena Management District's new Holiday Passport starts at CicLAvia on November 15 and runs through November 29, with Small Business Saturday the day before it closes. Most of the stores on it sit along the same stretch of East Holly Street. If you're mapping out the second half of November, start with the passport. It's the thread that connects all four events.

The passport launches on a car-free Colorado Boulevard

CicLAvia—Pasadena takes over the streets on Sunday, November 15, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's the organization's 69th open-streets event, presented by Metro. The route covers nearly three miles of open streets, and two more miles of pop-up bike lanes connect to it. Here's what it means for anyone who drives through central Pasadena on a Sunday:

• Closed to cars: Colorado Boulevard from Pasadena Avenue to Allen Avenue, and Raymond Avenue from Pacific Alley to East Dayton Street.
• No parking, still open to traffic: Colorado Boulevard from Allen Avenue to San Gabriel Boulevard, Walnut Street from Raymond Avenue to Orange Grove Boulevard, and Orange Grove Boulevard from Walnut Street to Rosemont Avenue.
• Hours: Closures start at 7 a.m. and streets are fully open by about 5 p.m. Streets near activity hubs may close as early as 6 a.m.
• Crossing: Cars can cross the route at selected major streets, and residents and businesses on adjacent streets keep local access.

The city's two temporary "Slow Streets" stretch the event in both directions. One is a 1-mile lane along Walnut that continues toward Rosemont Avenue, a few blocks from the Rose Bowl. The other is a 1-mile segment of Colorado from Allen Avenue to San Gabriel Boulevard, linking East Colorado to Lamanda Park. Both stay open to car traffic, with cones and signs separating bikes from cars. One of the activity hubs is the Colorado Hub at 1778 E. Colorado Blvd. To skip parking altogether, take the Metro A Line. Del Mar Station is less than a tenth of a mile from the route, and Fillmore Station is 0.8 miles away.

The passport comes into it here. Old Pasadena says you can pick one up starting that Sunday at CicLAvia. The rules on the Old Pas Holiday Passport page are simple. There are 21 participating small retailers. Get stickers from at least 12 of them, and you don't have to buy anything. Just ask for a sticker. Then photograph your card and email it, with your name, email and phone number, to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 29. On Monday, November 30, at 3 p.m., there's a random drawing for one $1,225 grand prize package, which includes a $50 gift card and merchandise from all 21 retailers, plus two $500 prize packages.

Holly Street covers nine of the twelve in one evening

On Thursday, November 19, the Shops on Holly hold their Holidays on Holly open house for the 15th year. It's free, stores stay open late, and there are trunk shows, discounts, and cocktails and snacks. Old Pasadena lists the event from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and most shop offers run from 2 to 8 p.m. All nine participating shops are passport stops, and the event page tells shoppers to bring their cards.

So if you pick up a card on Sunday and walk Holly Street on Thursday, you'll have nine stickers in four days. That leaves three more from the other twelve passport retailers, with ten days to collect them. Three days after that, Holly Street hosts Doo Dah.

Doo Dah goes back to the street where its parade began, minus the parade

The Doo Dah Parade dates to 1978. It built a national reputation as the irreverent, satirical counterpart to the Rose Parade. Here's how the last two years went, followed by this year's plan:

1. 2024: The 45th parade ran as a street procession on November 24. It started at Raymond and Holly, went south to Colorado, then west to Pasadena Avenue.
2. 2025: On August 14, 2025, producer Light Bringer Project announced it would skip that year's parade. Pasadena Now reported the reasons as wildfire impacts and uncertainty over education funding, and said the goal was to conserve resources and keep up arts education for underserved youth. Managing Director Patricia Hurley told the Pasadena Star-News that "the wildfire crisis and other uncertainties have placed stress on our school programs in several ways." In place of the parade, the Doo Dah Takeover on November 23 brought music, performances and queen tryouts to Dog Haus Biergarten, followed by an adults-only after-party at Old Towne Pub. The Star-News counted more than 100 people.
3. 2026: When the 2025 parade was called off, Pasadena Now reported that organizers expected it back on November 22, 2026. That date stuck, but the format changed. The organizers' October 28 press release announces a park Love-In and describes it as a chance to bring the Pasadena and Altadena communities back together after the Eaton Fire canceled the 2025 parade. According to the Doo Dah website, the next parade is in November 2027.

The Love-In is free and family-friendly. It starts around 11 a.m. and runs through the afternoon. Bring a blanket and a picnic and claim a spot on the grass. Headliners Spaghetti Cumbia lead a lineup that includes The Hankies, Radioactive Chicken Heads, Count Smokula, Shag Party, Bonehenge, Robby Ravenwood and the Funhouse Porcupines, Rocka Chewbacca, The Nextdoors, The Whistling Diva, StOnYAtTi, Bone Creek and Soul Fuzz. Former Doo Dah royalty Queen Mercy of the Merkettes, Taquila Mockingbird and Bootleg Meg will be there, along with 2026 Doo Dah Queen Hannah and her court. Hannah was crowned October 25 at Old Towne Pub. Around the park, look for parade regulars in costume and a collection of handmade oddities, quirky crafts, wearable art and vintage clothing from local artists and makers. There will be costume and dance contests too.

When the park winds down, the free after-party for ages 21 and up moves to Old Towne Pub, 66 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, with Ashton Slater's Grateful Getdown. Doo Dah T-shirts are on sale in the staging area. The operation is nonprofit, and part of each sale goes to public school youth in the arts and to local artists.

The last week of the card

After Doo Dah, there's one week left on the passport. Old Pasadena's Small Business Saturday falls on November 28, and the district's invitation is to shop small and dine local, with a map and directory of local businesses to help plan the route. The passport page also names Small Business Saturday as a place to bring your card. If your card still needs those last three stickers, Saturday is your best chance before the 5 p.m. deadline on Sunday, November 29.

Old Pasadena has a December event on its calendar, too. The Tournament of Roses lists float Decorating Places at Rosemont Pavilion, 700 Seco Street, from December 28 through 30.

Our office is just down Huntington Drive in Arcadia, and the short drive to Old Pasadena is one we make often. If you're thinking about how a home near Holly Street, or anywhere along the CicLAvia route, fits into your plans, Pamela at Art Del Rey Realty would be glad to talk it through with you, after the confetti settles. Let's Connect.