Ocean City’s 30th annual Doo Dah Parade brought tens of thousands of visitors to Ocean City on Saturday afternoon, including one who has been missing all spring: sunny warm weather.
A spectacular blue sky may have been the main attraction for the event, which kicked off at noon and traveled through downtown Ocean City on Asbury Avenue and finished on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
The Doo Dah Parade featured grand marshal Momma Dietz, who at age 90 is still CEO of the Dietz and Watson company and a long-time supporter of Ocean City events. The procession included bands, pageant queens, community organizations, Martin Z. Mollusk, Wonder Bear, Trash Buster the Canned Crusader, and almost 600 basset hounds.
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Ocean City honored Dietz and others in a short ceremony after the parade, and Scott Schell of Williamsport, Pa., performed an original song about Ocean City’s Doo Dah Parade (see video above).
The PieAsco — in which parade attendees are invited to smoosh friends and family with shaving cream pies in honor of comedian Soupy Sales — concluded the event.
The Basset Hound Olympics, which had been postponed from Friday, took place on a practice field adjacent to Ocean City High School later in the afternoon.
The Doo Dah Parade in Ocean City is part of a weekend dedicated to humor and is modeled after an event in Pasadena, Calif. It has served as an early-spring draw for Ocean City and starts a series of special events that will continue through the summer, fall and into the new year.
The beach, boardwalk and downtown shops remained busy throughout the day.
