Doo Dah, Parade, and Display.

Yesterday, for the first time, we attended the Doo Dah parade. It was kind of a spur of the moment, on a whim decision, and we are ok with that, in fact some of those work out so well, that it makes the poor choices worth the trouble. How often do you get to see a woman in a elephant mask slap boxing a woman wearing a Hillary Clinton mask? We saw that. Of course, it was an act, as the picture above proves, they were having a bottle of water again together, before the next round. But, after a cold drink, they were back at it, swinging, bobbing, weaving, ducking, dodging, and trying to hold their masks in place.


There was a lot of color, and craziness, and it was fun. In most cases the people were center of attention, floats were scarce, and sparse, and the entertainers carried the weight of the parade, all along the parade route, which was long enough that the they earned my admiration. Particularly a group of dancers who busted a move to an enthusiastic swing dance around the entire route, and seemed to smile the whole time. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the whirling, spinning, calorie burning athletes.


Another feat that should be recognized is people like this person who carried this huge mask for at least a mile, and by the time you factor in the weaving from side to side across the street, waving and "smiling" and shaking hands with unsuspecting, startled blogger. Don't worry though, with the crowd on either side shrieking "SHAKE HIS HAND" I recovered admirably, shook his hand, and I lived to tell the tale.



These brave people were riding bikes that were normally only one bike long, but they were often a bike and a half, or two bikes high. It would seem that riding these tall, unusual, home fabricated bikes looked challenging, and treacherous, but they glided gracefully, drawing huge circles in the street. However they begged the question; how do they get started, and how do they stop, but, watching them climb on and off the bikes was worth the trip downtown. it was a sort of glide, climb, step over and pedal dance between machine and human.

Watching the parade was fun, and there were many parts that were delightful, and many parts that were entertaing, and some parts that played on the issues of the day. Though, some of the displays were a little ribald, and seemed to be outrageous with no real message. As Garland Jeffries, so aptly, said, "all due respect to art for art's sake," and maybe there was a message in the lingerie, and exposed flesh, sometimes a lot of exposed flesh, but it was not immediately accessible.

Doo-Dah is fun, and worth attending, it is more event than parade, and more exhibition than statement, but it is a great time, and if you are not too offended by the glorious diversity of humanity you will enjoy the spectacle.

Location:Dateline, sort of; Short North, Columbus, OH!