"Alright Princess, what's the story?"
     ---- curious woman at the  Irmo Okra Strut parade

The Sweet Tea Queens welcome you to our modest but-well-cared-for home on the Internet. The story of this chapter of the Sweet Potato Queens is one of ladies and their consorts seeking something beyond the plainness and sameness of everyday life.

In March of 2001, our eventual Boss Sweet Tea Queen (BSTQ) Carolyn, having just finished reading the second Sweet Potato Queens book by Jill Conner Browne, "God Save The Sweet Potato Queens", discovered their web site www.sweetpotatoqueens.com. They were seeking like-minded women to start local chapters and carry forth the message and ideals written by Boss Queen Jill. We were all too happy to oblige.

With the help of Carolyn's husband, Mr. Tea (ever forth to be known as Beloved Consort), our website was born. Within days of posting a request for women interested in joining a chapter on the Sweet Potato Queens Messageboard of Love, our first members rose to the occasion.

Our first public event was a book signing Jill was holding in our home town of Spartanburg.  This appearance prompted us to quickly throw together outfits made of discarded prom and bridesmaids dresses, find some feather boas and make the pilgrimage to see Jill. Carolyn and Heather were there to christen the Sweet Tea Queens.

Soon after Miss Tea contacted us, and then Jerri, and before long our ranks were such that a meeting, or Convergence, was called for. Our first, at Hickory Tavern restaurant, was a smashing success. BSTQ welcomed women from  North Augusta to Wilmington, spotting them by their tiaras, having never met any of them before.

After another Convergence, we had the opportunity to again see Jill in Charlotte. Carolyn had friends who knew the various Sweet Potato Queens from college or other situations, and was anxious to meet the other SPQs, sharing greetings from these common friends. The event went wonderfully! TammieDonna (the SPQs all have "Tammie" names), who had gone to school with a woman that worked with Carolyn was warm and friendly , sending return greetings to their common friend. Jill was a great speaker and equally as friendly. Poor Jerri, got bad directions and missed the whole thing!

Charlotte was the last time the STQ's wore prom dresses. Carolyn spent many hours in the fabric stores, looking for just the right pattern for a Sweet Tea Queen outfit, and the perfect fabric and trim to go with it. This turned out to be more difficult than we thought. No one had green babydot sequin fabric anywhere around. The nearest source for sequin trim was an hour away. At last we found a pageant dress manufacturer in Indiana that would sell us fabric by the yard, and Carolyn's Beloved Consort found a pageant-oriented fabric store in Columbia, SC that had everything else. He bought so much sequin trim and fringe (for one dress at a time), that any new Queens going there would just say it's for the STQs and the clerks knew what they needed.

We premiered the new outfits at the Coon Dog Days parade in Saluda, NC in July along with a 20-foot float that Heather had found.  The float, a low-rider flat bed trailer, belongs to her boyfriend's buddy Josh. We call Josh and Heather's consort Ryan, the Sugar Lumps 'cause there's just so much sweetness packed in so tight.

Like previous events, the Coon Dog Days parade was a smashing success. We wowed the crowds and the judges. Someone had the idea of throwing Mardi Gras beads to the crowd as an enticement. We ordered five gross from a company in New Orleans, but we ran completely out.

 About the same time, Chris suggested that , like the SPQs "Tammie"s, we all take up new "Teana" names. The idea is that everyone's name begins with "Teana", as in TeanaChris. It was perfect! The STQ image was complete.

As the Convergences continued, we added more Queens. We added Queens with dual citizenship. (Members of two chapters), we even had wannabees (women who'd LOVE to be an STQ, but just didn't have the nerve to take the final step). We made excursions to area malls and restaurants, where the general public acted as if we were celebrities, and so we acted the part! We would invade Claire's and Victoria's Secret, among other stores, and groups of women would follow us.

We've been interviewed and photographed by newspaper and television reporters, studied by a college professor, had countless photos taken by curious onlookers and even been asked to come up and perform on-stage with our favorite band in front of a packed house.

Sure, from time to time, we've heard disparaging remarks made about us. "Oh! My Gawd!" "Drag Queens, I bet!" and more recently at the Okra Strut parade, when an old woman rolled down her car window beside our float, pointed her finger and yelled, "Distasteful! You are distasteful! So distasteful!" To which TeanaJerri responded, "Thank you! Thank you!". That pretty much sums up our thoughts about those folks, if you don't like OUR flavor, try plain vanilla.

It's been a SHORT, strange trip so far, to paraphrase Jerry Garcia. One big secret to the cohesiveness of the group is being accepting of anyone, as long as they exhibit Queenly properties. We don't talk politics (although some of us are VERY political in other identities), we don't talk lifestyles. We have in BobDaddy, our official Minister (and Beloved Consort to TeanaChris), the most Christ-like friend and advisor we could ever ask for. He has given wonderful words to those of us in need, not just in the Sweet Tea Queens, but in the whole Sweet Potato Queens movement, by way of the messageboard. And he's FUN! You have to be fun to join us.

Fun is something that many of us had lost and now have regained. Wanting to be fun is the prerequisite-- wanting to have fun. We don't pressure anyone. The outfits are as revealing as each Queen desires, or as modest as they're comfortable with. The outfits are a vehicle to the fun, not the badge.

Understanding this Sweet Potato Queens thing is something that can't be explained here. It's in the book-- read the book. The Book, as it's known, is "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love" by Jill Conner Browne, her first book. It pretty well tells you what motivates us. The short story is that upon discovering that one's Queenliness comes from within (as in one's attitude), everyone deserves a tiara upon their head to show off that Queenliness. And since no one gave you that crown, no one can take it away. Poor Miss America is a has-been after a year, Sweet Potato Queens and their like are Queens forever. After that, the rest is up to you, but be aware, it's a lifestyle change.

Look for us in parades and festivals throughout the upstate of South Carolina. Everywhere we go we come upon surprised old friends who knew us as "regular people" and meet new friends who never knew us any other way.  And while members have come and gone, largely because the STQs were something they needed at that point in their lives, most of the retired members still keep in touch and, in fact, are tempted to put on that sparkly dress and parade again. Seems like once you're a Queen, you're a Queen For Life!