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Monday, March 19, 2012
St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade in Mansfield lacked one tiny thing: a pickle
There were Girl Scouts and beagles and plenty of green.
MANSFIELD — Dear City of Mansfield,
Pickle Queens at Mansfield Pickle Parade
I'm writing in reference to the St. Paddy's Pickle Parade and Pickle Palooza Run you hosted on Saturday -- which I attended, eschewing the Greenville Avenue parade, the Leprechaun cider at Trinity Hall, and the Guinness Stout pancakes with Bailey's whipped cream and Jameson whiskey syrup at Holy Grail Pub.
I bypassed all that and more because your St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade and Pickle Palooza Run seemed to hold great promise.
For starters, it was the first of its kind in Mansfield. And it was sponsored by Best Maid pickles, whose sweet midgets I buy all the time. That Best Maid is HQ'd in Fort Worth made for a nifty tie-in. And there was the fact that you got an actual Irish priest to play the part of St. Patrick.
Pickle Parade marchers in green tulle skirts
So I got up on a Saturday. Drove from Deep Ellum to Mansfield. Since you blocked the main drag, I parked at a hair salon and hoofed the mile down Broad Street along with hundreds of people dressed in green. On the parade route, I climbed up a brick planter to get a good vantage for photos. I got pics of the beagle rescue, of the aspirational ballerinas in green tulle skirts. I cheered for the cheerleaders, and whistled at the crew of Elvises doing crazy wheelies on motorized trykes.
What I did not see was a pickle. I don't think I missed it? I was keeping an eye out. I expected it at the end; that seemed like the right time to trot out a pickle -- a capper to a parade whose name was pickle. I envisioned a guy in a pickle costume, or else maybe a splendid giant pickle crafted out of papier mache. I watched as two final floats glided by carrying the "pickle queens" in their prom gowns and tiaras and floozy-esque red wigs -- unquestionably enchanting but -- still no pickle. The Home Depot truck had a painted wooden pickle, but it wasn't a pickle with a capital P.
I don't want to criticize your parade, City of Mansfield, but calling it a Pickle Parade without a pickle is just wrong.
Pickle Parade (March 17)
Photos by Teresa Gubbins
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John Turner-McClelland, verified:
Sounds like Mansfield was in quite a pickle
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Teresa Gubbins, staff:
John McClelland, your comment gave me a little tickle
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damn yankee, anonymous:
Keep it PG13, you guys!
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Teresa Gubbins, staff:
damn yankee, for every comment like that, if i only had a nickel
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Nancy Nichols, verified:
Nichols? Did someone wish for a Nichols? I love pickles.
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scosio, anonymous:
Dear Teresa,
Thank you for attending our parade.
Next year (and there will be a next year) we'll try to accommodate your request for a papier mache pickle.
Sincerely, Discover Historic Mansfield, Inc.
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Teresa Gubbins, staff:
scosio, thanks for your comment! i'll be happy to come and slap on some wet newspaper. i'm pretty sure i got a papier-mache badge in girl scouts
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clh2oman, anonymous:
I thought it was good for the very first one! I saw a truck with a Best Maid Pickle Jar on it, a truck with a wooden super pickle on it (cape too). I thought the Pickle Queens were darling. It was fun and I enjoyed it. Thanks Mansfield for doing something in "Our" town!
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isabell, anonymous:
The Best Maid St. Paddy's Pickle Parade was full of pickles- you just have to look in the right place!
The parade was opened by the Big Dill (Grand Marshal), Gary Dalton, who is the CEO of Best Maid. Followed by the Best Maid Pickle Car & the Best Maid Pickle Truck and many other Mansfield pickle fans!
We sold tons of hot, sour & regular dills on a stick, 5 5-gallon buckets worth of fried hamburger slices and Steven's Garden & Grill served our relish, kosher spears, snappy dills and hamburger slices. We had a pickle eating contest, a pickle juice drinking contest (with pickles as trophies of course!) and we served our new Pickleade lemonade! Not to mention the pickle tasting, where we had sampling of our new Xtreme Hot and Xtreme Sour Pickle Bitez.
We do hope to make the parade bigger, better and more pickled next year, though, and welcome all suggestions & ideas!
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lpepweg, anonymous:
How did you miss all the pickles? Did you go to a different parade than I did?
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Teresa Gubbins, staff:
lpepweg, maybe i was on the wrong side of the street?
isabell, i definitely missed the pickle-eating contest, pickle trophies, pickle-juice drinking contest, and the Pickleade. i'll have to check out the Xtreme Hot and Xtreme Sour Pickle Bitez - maybe sub them out for my usual midgets
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James Scott, verified:
I would definitely expect to see a pickle-man mascot running around scaring children, or perhaps a pickle-mobile, a la the Oscar Meyer wienermobile. Maybe next year...
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Teresa Gubbins, staff:
this video shows the beginning of the parade including the Best Maid mascot. he's no pickle but he is a mascot, gotta give him that
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scosio, anonymous:
You do realize that the article was a back-handed compliment, no?
We did well if her only complaint is that there wasn't a papier mache pickle.
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Carol S., anonymous:
best. comments. ever.
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jawjie, anonymous:
Well, to be fair, their mascot is not a personified walking pickle, it's the little girl shown on their labels. HOWEVER, I admit it would be awesome to see an army of walking pickles at this year's parade! Haha.
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What do you think?