Alverno Student Crowned Queen of Upcoming 2011 Pasadena Doo Dah Parade

Rosalind Schoen, a student at Sierra Madre’s Alverno High School was chosen from a field of dozens of royal hopefuls to be the 2011 Doo Dah Queen. With her new crown, the 17-year-old will preside over the “34th Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade” on April 30.

According to the Sierra Madre Weekly, which first reported Schoen’s win on Sunday, Rosalind’s “Red Rosie” character impressed the parade’s 30-plus judges by “transforming from a demure Catholic school pupil into a red-lipsticked, red-caped Wonder Woman” on stage at Saturday's competition.

Alverno’s Head of School, Ann Gillick, told Patch that she was excited for Rosalind’s success in her latest endeavor.

“The Alverno mission is to empower each young woman to be exactly the person she wants to be,” Gillick said. “And we’re glad that the person Rosie wants to be is a beautiful young woman with a great sense of humor.”

For the uninitiated, the so-called “Occasional” Doo Dah Parade is held each year in Pasadena as a sort of counter-culture alternative to the well-known Pasadena Rose Parade. Proclaiming itself as the “twisted sister” of the Rose Parade, Doo Dah features off-beat, comical, tongue-in-cheek and sometimes downright strange entries that parade down Colorado Boulevard in East Pasadena.

This year’s parade will be held at 11 a.m. on April 30 and will feature more than 1,000 marchers, including such entries as Dr. Steel’s Army of Toy Soldiers, The Pink-Slipped Pissed-Off Teachers, the Million Marijuana March, the Motorized Couch, the Men of Leisure, BBQ & Hibachi Marching Grill Team and the Doo Dah house band, Snotty Scotty & the Hankies, according to an official release from parade organizers.