📸 Columbus through the years: how the Doo Dah Parade began ➡️ Doo Dah invites the satirical, politically timely, or just plain silly to march in its annual July 4 parade. The tongue-in-cheek procession is now one of the city’s most bizarre, beloved traditions. It all started in Pasadena, California in 1978. Six years later, Gregory Carr, Bill Kiener, and Joe Theibert brought the event to Columbus for its 1984 debut. The first parade was modestly attended, but attendance grew each year. Then, annual favorites emerged like the Marching Fidels, the Lawn Mower Brigade, and the Precision Drill Team. Sponsorships came next, and the parade route grew. This time, participants will walk about 1.5 miles through Victorian Village and the Short North. Each year, a “Less-Than-Grand Marshal” leads the event. The list includes Mayors Coleman and Rinehart, boxer Buster Douglas, and former U.S. President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923), who, unsurprisingly, did not show up for the 1986 parade. Th...