“Once I put the garb on, I’m not Lorie,” says 57-year-old Mansfield resident Lorie Tomlin as she opens her arms to show off her form-fitting evening gown made of lime-green sequins. “I’m Queen Lorie.” Tomlin also dons a wide silver belt, mirrored sunglasses, costume jewelry, a curly auburn wig, and a glittery tiara. “We have another Queen in a mint-green dress,” she says. “Another one’s in emerald. One’s in teal. The Queens wear green. Any kind of green.”
At 10:30 a.m. in Downtown Mansfield, the temperature is climbing toward 90, as close to 30,000 people mill about the World’s Only St. Paddy’s Day Pickle Paradeand Palooza, sampling homemade pickled carrots and Brussels sprouts; shopping for “I’m Kind of a Big Dill” mugs and Emotional Support Pickles; getting their faces painted, jumping in bounce houses, or competing in the pickle juice-drinking contest. Tomlin is hanging out in Sunshine Yoga Shack, today dubbed “the Queen’s Lair,” where the “Pickle Queens,” one of whom owns the studio, can retreat from the crowd, enjoy the air conditioning, and use bathrooms instead of Port-a-Potties.
The Pickle Queens self-identify as “40-plus” women (they range in age from 47 to 72). According to their website, the queens’ role is to “produce and celebrate The World’s Only St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade & Palooza® and support the community of Mansfield, Texas with a joyful and giving spirit.” The Palooza began in 2012, the year before the 83rd Texas Legislature declared Mansfield, birthplace of Best Maid Pickles, the Pickle Capital of Texas. Local reporter Amanda Kowalski conceived of the Pickle Queens, but has since retired her own crown…