ORANGE CITY, Iowa | Karli Lang's "royal" experience with the Orange City Tulip Festival has come full circle. Lang, the daughter of Chris and Sherry Lange, of Orange City, serves as queen for the 2017 festival.
More than one decade ago, Lang served as a page for the queen's court.
"As a first-grader, I was a page on the court," said Lang. "the queen gets to choose a first-grader from each Orange City Elementary and Orange City Christian School and they get to ride on the float and be in pictures."
That shoe, though not wooden, is on the other foot this year, so to speak, one of several duties the queen must perform.
Lang has enjoyed a number of Tulip Festival duties in the past, starting with her participation as a child street-scrubber, preparing the city streets for the popular Volksparade.
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"When I was younger, I did street scrubbing, I rode in floats and did the Dutch Dancing in elementary school," said Lang, a senior at MOC-FV High School in Orange City. "Then, I was in marching band as a middle school student."
As a high school student, Lang marched in wooden shows, playing flute with the famous Pride of the Dutchmen marching band for a couple of parades each day. She transitioned into more comfortable footwear as she became a member of the color guard during her sophomore year.
During the queen's pageant in November, Lang recalled some anxiety while awaiting the impromptu questions she was given in front of the audience.
One question: What color best describes her?
"I said yellow as I'm a pretty cheerful person," Lang said. "Yellow can be really bright or more neutral. I can be energetic or calm."
Toward the end of the pageant, Lang, who was wearing a prom dress, was asked what kind of random act had an influence on her. She remembered receiving a "sweet, encouraging note" that was left in her locker.
"School can get to be the 'same thing every day,'" Lang said, noting how this note brightened her day. "I just appreciated it. It was anonymous and I still don't know who left it."
When Lang was announced as queen late that night, she stood frozen for a second, a cross between feelings of awe and ones of shock.
"Mayor Deb DeHaan put the crown on me and I had to walk all the way around the auditorium while a song was being sung," she said. "I was thinking, 'Did this just happen?'"
Just one month or so earlier, Lang had been a member of the homecoming court at MOC-FV High School. She wasn't selected as homecoming queen, though.
Her older sister, Kelsey Lang, was also a member of the queen's court for the 2016 Orange City Tulip Festival. Kelsey, though, didn't win the title of queen, as Ava Grossmann earned that honor.
"It's kind of crazy because I wasn't sure I'd go out for the court," Karli Lang said. "I never really expected this."
While Lang has always appreciated the close-knit bonds shared by residents in Orange City, she has grown even closer to people as preparations have accelerated for a festival that draws up to an estimated 100,000 visitors to the Sioux County seat.
"All the girls on the court, we love each other so much," Lang said. "We get along so well. We've had fun times already. We've spent several weeks putting together our road show, which is a skit that has information about Tulip Festival and encourages people to come."
Lang also participated with the queen's court in an extravaganza to reveal the 2017 costumes, dresses that come from the town of Hoorn, located in the province of North Holland.
"They're really comfortable and there aren't too many parts. They're easy to put on," the new queen announced. "We totally lucked out."
