When’s the free pickle parade, palooza? How Mansfield’s ode to a condiment came to be

Bob and Amanda Kowalski were enjoying margaritas downtown with friends on a normal night more than a decade ago. You know what they say, the best ideas always come when you’re sipping on tequila.

“We should have a St. Patrick’s day parade.” Amanda Kowalski said then.

And that they did.

But it was not just any St. Paddy’s day parade. Most know the parade as St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade and Palooza. Why not? It’s hosted in Mansfield, the pickle capital of Texas.

“The first year was just word-of-mouth. We thought we’d maybe have 500 people and then the folks turned down to the main street. We had over 5,000 people.”

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The green screams down Mansfield’s main street, a horde of revelers that began an annual tradition in this city south of Fort Worth.

The Kowalskis knew then that they had something big going. This was absolutely going to be an event. From that point on, along with nine volunteer board members with no experience, they became event planners.

“None of us are parade or event professionals. So now you have to learn where to get barricades, porta potties. How do you get groups to be in your parade? All of that, so we had to learn on the fly.” Kowalski told the Star-Telegram.

Now, pickle palooza has pickle queens and their mascot, the pickle dude.

“Everybody wants to see the pickle queens, they are like the Santa Claus of our parade,” she said.

The queens are costumed in green gowns with red wigs, and of course, cowboy boots. The 12 ladies strut down as the parade’s finale.

Their prince, the pickle dude, is “the most photographed character in Mansfield.” The mascot even has his own Instagram account. Wearing his custom pickle converse, he prances around the pickle palooza drawing smiles as he passes by.

Vendors, local small craft businesses, and pie eating contests are all part of what makes the free parade popular. It is the only pickle parade in the world that attracts people from Boston, California, and even London.

Why is Mansfield Texas’ pickle capital?

Dating back a century, Mildred Dalton sold grocery items out of her humble home in Mansfield. A surplus of pickles she used to make her famous “burger spread” gave Dalton no other choice but start selling pickles.

Thus Best Maid pickles was born.

For the next century, Mansfield has been home to the “largest family-owned manufacturer of shelf stable pickles in the U.S.,” according to Best Maid Pickles.

Mansfield was named the Pickle Capital of Texas in 2013 by the 83rd Legislature. One small step for Texas, a huge leap for the pickle community.

What’s the dill with 2024 Pickle Palooza in Mansfield?

Pickle Palooza has a different theme every year. For 2024, it’s “deep in the heart of Texas.” Families prepare miniature floats for their babies to ride following the year’s theme. The parade will host a run this year — starting at Legacy high school, the parade and run will move through Main Street all the way to downtown.

• This year the parade will take place Saturday, March 16.

• Free admission, parking, and parking shuttles.

• Kendra’s Kreations once again sponsors and provides pickles.

• Children’s 5k begins at 8 a.m., concert by Cory Morrow wraps up at 6 p.m. For the full schedule, visit Pickle Palooza’s website.