 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2014) |
The Saint Paul Winter Carnival is an annual festival in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.
In 1885, a New York reporter wrote that Saint Paul was, "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation" in winter. Offended by this attack on their city, the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce decided to prove not only that Saint Paul was habitable but that its citizens were very much alive during winter, their most dominant season. A Winter Carnival had been held over the border in Montreal with an ice castle in 1885. With a model to draw upon the Saint Paul Winter Carnival was created in 1886. It was followed by carnivals held in 1887, 1888 and 1896. The Carnival was held again in 1916 and 1917. There was another lapse until 1937 when they continued through 1942. WWII interrupted life in general, but the Carnival resumed in 1946. It remains an annual event today. [1]
In 1886, King Boreas the First was crowned and the first Winter Carnival commenced. This festival also featured an ice palace, an elaborate creation made from the ice of Minnesota lakes, which has evolved into an internationally recognized icon for Saint Paul's festival.
2021 will have a drive-thru carnival and see strict measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, such as wearing masks & social distancing.
The event featured many activities including bobsledding and ice horse-racing. The former name uniquely and directly describes the activity as frozen lakes were used as race surfaces for sled-carts. The organizers say the event also served to bring the community closer together, including members of nearby Native American tribes. Many members of local tribes would ride into the city and pitch tents to participate in the Winter Carnival. Over the years the Carnival's Royalty has shown very little diversity.
The Winter Carnival has grown over the years. The Royal Family fraternal organization makes over 400 appearances annually[ citation needed ] and participates in community activities around the Twin Cities Metro Area. As a community organization, the members of the Royal Family and Vulcan Krewe travel throughout the US and Canada visiting different communities and engaging in various festivals. They aim to promote community awareness and volunteerism and to support charitable causes.[ which? ]
The Winter Carnival is held during January each year. It was not held during World War II out of respect for the conflict abroad. Currently the Winter Carnival runs the following events as part of the celebration:
| | This section needs additional citations for verification .(November 2015) |
The Royal Family is selected through each character's fraternal organization, and in the case of the queen and princesses, a pageant-style coronation. The Royal Family consists of:
The Vulcan Krewe is selected by the Order of Fire and Brimstone along with the new Fire King, Vulcanus Rex, each year. Each year a new Krewe is hand selected through an application and interview process. Selected Krewe members must complete a five-year commitment to become a full-fledged member of Fire and Brimstone. After a member's fifth year, that individual is then eligible to be a Fire King. [2]
The Fire King running suit, the uniform
In the early carnivals, when the Fire King ran alone, he wore typically kingly attire, crown and all, with heavy emphasis on the color red in the rest of the costume. In 1916, Ron Stewart, Vulcanus Rex I, wore a warm blanket coat with a wide sash and a headpiece with devil-type horns on it. This attire continued through 1939. Again, in 1940, Vulcanus Rex VI, E.R. Reiff, designed the basic running suit worn today. The horns were replaced by two feathers at the back of the head with a central fin running across the top of the head from front to back. In 1959 the feathers disappeared by order of Vulcanus Rex XXII, John Works. In February, 2012, Vulcanus Rex LXXV; Steve Robertson, began wearing a crown following the overthrow of Boreas to signify Vulcanus Rex as the Victorious King of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. There are six primary pieces to the current running suit: the hat, the running suit, the cape, boots, gloves, goggles, and grease.
These ceremonies were started in 1956. Every year, the Fire King "knights" hundreds of individuals. Special people are singled out by the king and his "Krewe" for this award. A knighting certificate consists of a "title" being bestowed, and a certificate being presented. Titles bestowed usually reflect the individual's special contribution to a community, company, club or organization, or family.
The current fire engine being used by the Krewe was built in 1932 by Luverne Fire Apparatus of Luverne, Minnesota. Starting out in 1932 as Saint Paul Squad 1 and in 1940 becoming a reserve hose cart, it is believed to be the only one of its type left. The City of Saint Paul began allowing the Krewe to use this fire engine in the late 1950s. Over the years the fire engine has been rebuilt many times while maintaining most of the original body and frame. In 1996, Fire & Brimstone took over ownership and upkeep of the truck.
In the late 1940s some of the former Krewe members formed a group that included only former Vulcans. In 1958 it was made into a fully incorporated organization. Fire & Brimstone is run by a board of directors that is elected by the general membership at their annual meeting. This board's main objective is to provide support for the Vulcan Krewe and also to plan many activities and events for F&B members and their families to attend throughout the year.
Starting in 1952, each year during the carnival, there is an annual treasure hunt. The Saint Paul Pioneer Press prints in their newspaper 12 clues on 12 consecutive days. These clues point to a local park, where participants race to the park they think the clues point them towards, and start searching for the medallion. The clues are often cryptic until the 12th day, when people line up outside the newspaper offices, cell phones in hand and partners in parks, when the 12th clue gives them almost the exact location. The medallion has previously been hidden in a diaper, a White Castle hamburger box, a pop can, inside an Oreo cookie, and frozen in ice. The finders of the medallion are awarded up to $10,000 and receive a place of honor riding in the closing Torchlight Parade.
To date, the St. Paul Winter Carnival has built 38 Ice Palaces. Ice palaces have been built in 1886, 1887, 1888, 1896, 1917, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1986, 1988, 1992, 2004, 2018, and since 2021, among other years.
A krewe is a social organization that puts on a parade or ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations around the Gulf of Mexico, such as the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, Springtime Tallahassee, and Krewe of Amalee in DeLand, Fl with the Mardi Gras on Mainstreet Parade as well as in La Crosse, Wisconsin and at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival.
Rex is a New Orleans Carnival Krewe which stages one of the city's most celebrated parades on Mardi Gras Day. Rex is Latin for "King", and Rex reigns as "The King of Carnival".
Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister of King George V. Louise was given the title of Princess Royal in 1905. Known by her shy and quiet personality, Louise remained a low-key member of the royal family throughout her life.
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in the United Kingdom. It gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Although no longer the principal residence of the monarch, it is the ceremonial meeting place of the Accession Council, the office of the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, and the London residence of several minor members of the royal family.
The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in all of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Usually there is one major parade each day ; many days have several large parades. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the Mardi Gras season. In the final week, many events occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities, including parades and balls.
Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard ; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V.
An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace appeared in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was the handiwork of Empress Anna. Anna Ivanovna, Empress of Russia, commissioned an ice palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the winter of 1739–40. Architect Piotr Eropkin and scientist Georg Wolfgang Krafft used huge ice blocks measuring 16 m (52 ft) long by 5 m (16 ft) wide, joined together with frozen water, to build the palace. The city recreates the ice palace every winter.
Carnival Memphis, is a series of parties and festivities staged annually since 1931 in Memphis, Tennessee by the centralized Carnival Memphis Association and its member krewes during the month of June. Carnival salutes various aspects of Memphis and its industries, and is reigned over by the current year's secretly selected King, Queen, and Royal Court of Carnival.
The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star. The order has only one class with the dignity of Knight, and is the foremost order of Sweden.
The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club is a fraternal organization in New Orleans, Louisiana which puts on the Zulu parade each year on Mardi Gras Day. Zulu is New Orleans' largest predominantly African American carnival organization known for its blackfaced krewe members wearing grass skirts and its unique throw of hand-painted coconuts. The club is a regular feature of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The culture of Minnesota is a subculture of the United States with influences from Scandinavian Americans, Finnish Americans, Irish Americans, German Americans, Native Americans, Czechoslovak Americans, among numerous other immigrant groups. They work in the context of the cold agricultural and mining state.
The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when French explorers Pierre Le Moyne D'Iberville and Sieur de Bienville landed near present-day New Orleans, Louisiana. They held a small celebration and dubbed their landing spot Point du Mardi Gras.
Fire and brimstone is an idiomatic expression of God's wrath in the Bible.
Mythic Warriors is a 1998-2000 animated television series, which featured retellings of popular Greek myths that were altered so as to be appropriate for younger audiences, produced by Nelvana and Marathon Media. Two seasons of episodes were produced in 1998 and 1999; then aired as reruns until 2000, when CBS' abolition of its children's programming resulted in its cancellation. The series was based on the book series Myth Men Guardians of the Legend written in 1996 and 1997 by Laura Geringer and illustrated by Peter Bollinger.
The Tulane University Marching Band (TUMB) is the marching band of Tulane University. It performs at every Tulane Green Wave football home game in Yulman Stadium, bowl games, and some away games. It is also marches in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades each year, having appeared in Le Krewe d'Etat, the Krewe of Thoth, the Krewe of Bacchus, and the Krewe of Rex, among others.
Mardi Gras in the United States is not observed nationally across the country, largely due to the country's Protestant and Anglo roots. Mardi Gras and Carnival are mostly Catholic holidays, while the United States has a Protestant majority population. However, a number of cities and regions in the U.S. have notable Mardi Gras or Carnival celebrations. Most of these places trace their Mardi Gras celebrations to French, Spanish, and other Catholic colonial influences on the settlements over their history. The earliest Carnival celebration in North America occurred at a place on the west bank of the Mississippi river about 60 miles downriver from where New Orleans is today; this Mardi Gras on the 3 March 1699 and in honor of this holiday, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, a 38-year-old French Canadian, named the spot Point du Mardi Gras near Fort Jackson. The earliest organized Carnival celebrations occurred in Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, and Pensacola, which have each developed separate traditions. In addition, modern activities generally vary from city to city across the U.S.
Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Susan was a Pembroke Corgi dog owned by Queen Elizabeth II that was given to her on her eighteenth birthday. Following the dog's death in 1959, the Queen personally designed a headstone for her grave at Sandringham House. Susan was the first of a long line of Corgis and Dorgis owned by the Queen, all of them descended from Susan. The dogs have often accompanied the Queen in her public appearances, and have thus come to feature prominently in her public image.
The Boston Club is a private gentlemen's club in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, founded in 1841 as a place for its members to congregate and partake in the fashionable card game of Boston. It is the oldest remaining social club in the city, after the Elkin, Pelican, and Orleans Clubs closed prior to or due to the Civil War. The clubhouse has been located at 824 Canal Street since 1884, formerly 148 Canal St, on the edge of the Central Business District. It was built in 1844 by James Gallier as a city residence for Dr. William Newton Mercer, a planter in Mississippi and surgeon from the War of 1812. The Club itself was organized in 1841, by thirty leading mercantile and professional men, they were the heads of families and men of substance on the shady side of life, yet full of bonhomie and fond of the card game of Boston, from which this club was christened. It epitomized the South's most refined male tastes and attitudes, a member once noted, "Propriety of demeanor and proper courtesy are alone exacted within its portals."
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Paul Winter Carnival . |