Carnival Memphis facts for kids

Carnival Memphis is a fun festival held every year in Memphis, Tennessee. It started in 1931 and used to be called the Memphis Cotton Carnival. This event is organized by the Carnival Memphis Association and special groups called "krewes," similar to those in Mardi Gras. It usually happens in June. Carnival Memphis celebrates different parts of Memphis and its businesses. Each year, a secret King, Queen, and Royal Court lead the festivities.

Carnival Royalty: Kings, Queens, and Princesses

The Carnival has a special group of leaders called the Royal Court. This court includes young women from Memphis, often around 19 years old, who have usually finished their first year of college. They have male escorts who join them. Young women from outside Memphis are called "Ladies of the Realm."

Some members of the court have special titles. For example, the King chooses a "King's Princess," and the Queen chooses a "Queen's Princess." There's also a "President's Princess." Other princesses represent social clubs in Memphis, like the "Princess of the Memphis Country Club." Their male escorts might have similar titles, such as the "Prince of the University Club."

The Queen is a young woman who is a bit older than the princesses, usually having finished two or three years of college. The King is traditionally much older. He is a respected leader from the main business or industry being celebrated that year.

Carnival Memphis usually takes place during the first week of June. It starts on the Friday after Memorial Day with the Crown & Sceptre Ball. The festival ends with the Grand Carnival Ball. During this time, the main krewes of Carnival also host their own parties and events. They celebrate their own King, Queen, and Court, along with everyone else enjoying Carnival Memphis.

How Carnival Memphis Works: Krewes and Governance

The Carnival Memphis Association organizes the entire event. A Board of Directors helps run it. A President is chosen every year by the board members. An executive director manages the daily tasks of the association.

The Carnival Memphis Association plans and promotes the King, Queen, and Royal Court. They also organize many events during Carnival week. But there are also "Grand Krewes," which were once secret societies. These krewes hold their own parties throughout the year. They choose their own royalty and manage their own money. Each krewe has its own rules for who can join.

Many of these krewes have names from Ancient Egypt. This tradition started with the Mystic Memphi krewe. It also connects to Memphis, Tennessee, being a sister city to ancient Memphis, Egypt. There are twelve Grand Krewes that Carnival Memphis officially recognizes. Some of these include the Mystic Society of the Memphi, Osiris, Sphinx, and Ennead. The Secret Order of the Boll Weevils is a support group, but it's not a Grand Krewe.

The krewes of Memphi, Osiris, RaMet, and Sphinx are considered "old-line" krewes. They all started in the 1930s as the first secret societies of the Memphis Cotton Carnival. The Memphi krewe believes its history goes back to the 1870s. That's when they first promoted the Memphis Mardi Gras.

Each Grand Krewe is run by its own Board of Directors. They choose their own leader from their members, often called a "General Chairman." The King and Queen of Carnival Memphis are kept secret until an announcement in early February. Some of the older krewes keep their own royalty a secret for most or all of Carnival. For example, the King of Memphi is not announced until Wednesday night of Carnival Week. The King of Osiris is announced on the last day of Carnival Week.

Carnival History

Early Days: The Mardi Gras Era

In the 1870s, Memphis was trying to rebuild its economy after the Civil War. In 1872, the city celebrated Mardi Gras. This was similar to celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana. It happened just before the Christian season of Lent. Local business leaders, like David P. Hadden and Colton Greene, came up with the idea. They wanted to help the city's businesses and economy.

The celebration in Memphis became very popular, almost as big as New Orleans's Mardi Gras. Colton Greene also started the Mystic Society of Memphi. This group helped fund and organize the social events of the carnival. They convinced train companies to lower ticket prices. They also hired artists and costume makers. This helped attract huge crowds for the parades. Over time, more secret societies, or "krewes," were formed. They helped plan the parades, balls, and parties.

The carnival featured colorful costumes. These were inspired by ancient cultures like Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Because Memphis was named after an Egyptian city, artists used Egyptian images in floats and invitations. This gave the festival a mystical feeling. Memphis artist Carl Gutherz created beautiful invitations and sketches of the floats. These appeared in national magazines and helped make the Memphis Mardi Gras a big success. The first Memphis Mardi Gras in 1872 had about 20,000 people attending. At that time, the city had just over 40,000 residents.

However, the 1872 Memphis Mardi Gras also included a float that caused controversy. This float, which featured members of the Ku Klux Klan, was seen as mocking those who criticized the group. It highlighted that the celebrations were mainly for White citizens. This was especially sensitive, coming only six years after the 1866 Memphis Massacre.

The Memphis Mardi Gras was successful, but it slowly ended due to a major Yellow Fever outbreak and the city's decline in the 1880s. By the early 1900s, the party was over. However, its spirit lived on. During the Great Depression, Mardi Gras was brought back in 1931 as the Cotton Carnival. This new celebration became one of the biggest parties in the South. It remains an important cultural event in Memphis today.

The Memphis Cotton Carnival Era

In the early 1900s, many influential people in Memphis wanted to create a citywide event like the old Carnival. They also wanted to bring back the Mystic Memphi krewe. In the early 1930s, the Memphi krewe and the Memphis Cotton Carnival Association were formed. Their goal was to bring excitement and life back to Memphis during the Great Depression.

Instead of celebrating Mardi Gras, the new festival focused on cotton. Cotton was Memphis's most important product at the time. During the Depression, many people were jobless, and cotton prices were very low. The region's success depended on cotton, so they needed to find ways to increase its use.

A. Arthur Halle and other businessmen met with Herbert Jennings, a theater manager. Jennings suggested promoting cotton goods in his theater and encouraging stores to display cotton clothing. Halle liked the idea and imagined a bigger citywide event. He talked to Everett R. Cook, who was the President of the Memphis Cotton Exchange. They developed a plan for a grand celebration with a King, Queen, and Royal Court. The idea was to encourage people to buy and wear more cotton products. This plan worked, and people started demanding more cotton items, from socks to fancy dresses.

Cook explained his vision: "Carnival is to help all businesses. It is for all stores and all people. It is for all kinds of jobs and businesses. It is for the whole city, no matter the size of the business, social standing, wealth, or family background."

The Memphis Cotton Carnival became very popular in the mid-to-late 1900s. It stretched for several weeks in May and June. The Memphis Cotton Carnival Association became a strong organizing body. Along with the krewes, it created a festival that could only be compared to New Orleans' Mardi Gras. It attracted just as many people.

Street parades continued in downtown Memphis, along with many parties at the city's social clubs. The event also started to feature new entertainment. It became known as the "South's Greatest Party." The Carnival and its krewes kept their traditions. But they also entertained crowds with musicians like Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Guests came from all over the United States and the world. It truly became the city's most important event, enjoyed by people from all backgrounds.

One of its most popular events was the Arrival of the Royal Barge. This was a grand sight! The King, Queen, Royal Court, and other participants would arrive on a beautifully decorated barge on the Mississippi River. They would dock in downtown Memphis, and everyone would watch in awe. With amazing lights and fireworks lighting up the night sky, it was a true wonder. The whole city would gather along the Mississippi riverbanks to see the Royal Barge Landing. They would also walk along the Carnival midway and watch the parade. Many national news outlets covered the event. The Association even crowned a "Maid of Cotton" to travel the world and promote cotton fashion.

Changes and Decline

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 deeply affected Memphis. As businesses and people moved away from the city center, the public events of the Cotton Carnival became less frequent. Parades and the arrival of the Royal Barge slowly disappeared. The city government took over the "float factory" that made the parade floats. Mainstream Memphians became less interested in organizing the event. Other festivals, like the Memphis in May International Festival and its Beale Street Music Festival, also started to become popular.

Over the years, the Carnival's appeal faded as cotton became less important in the area. National news lost interest. The Maid of Cotton Pageant moved to Dallas, Texas. In the 1980s, the Cotton Carnival's name changed to the Great River Carnival. Then, it changed again to Carnival Memphis. The organization explained that the community had grown, and Memphis's economy was no longer only about cotton. The King started to be chosen from leaders in other businesses, not just the cotton industry. He was no longer called "King Cotton," but simply King, or Rex Carnivali.

For many years, the Cotton Carnival was mainly for white people. In 1934, a Black dentist named Dr. R.Q. Venson took his nephew to see a Carnival parade. His nephew said he didn't like it because "all the negroes were horses," referring to Black men pulling the floats. As a result, Dr. Venson and other Black Memphians organized their own event. This became the Cotton Makers' Fiesta in 1934. Its name later changed to Cotton Makers' Jubilee. It was held as a protest to gain respect for Black men and women. The first celebration was in May 1936. The Jubilee was most successful from 1948 to 1958. It only stopped twice: during World War II and in 1968 due to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. The Jubilee briefly joined Carnival Memphis in 1982, becoming the Kemet Jubilee krewe.

The King of Carnival is still an older man connected to the industry being celebrated. The Queen is still a young, unmarried woman from one of Memphis's well-known families. This tradition has remained the same.

Some people criticized Carnival Memphis for being exclusive. This was because the activities of the Carnival royalty and krewes were often secret. Their parties were by invitation only. Many outsiders would read newspaper stories about fancy balls and dinners held by these mysterious, Egyptian-themed krewes. They wondered why they couldn't attend these parties or have their daughters participate. This feeling of separation led to accusations of elitism within the Memphis community.

Carnival Memphis Today

By the late 1900s, Carnival Memphis was seen by some as just a series of formal parties for the city's elite. Many believed it was no longer the grand event it once was. The parades, big parties, fireworks, and bustling midway were gone.

However, Carnival officials became aware of these negative views. They started taking steps to include more people. More and more Carnival events are now open to the public. African-American Memphians are beginning to take part. The Cotton Makers' (now Kemet) Jubilee krewe was part of Carnival from 1982 to 2007. Also, Carnival has started choosing local charities. They organize special events for Carnival krewes, and each charity receives a donation.

Today, 74 years later, Carnival's main goal is still similar to 1931. It aims to recognize and promote an industry that helps the Mid-South economy. It also promotes Memphis as a great place to live and work. And it creates an annual celebration for that industry and the people of the Mid-South. The motto of Carnival Memphis is "Convivium Cum Propositione," which is Latin for "The Party with a Purpose!" According to Jim Cole, who lived in Memphis in the 1950s and 60s, "Elvis Presley was a major headline entertainer during the mid 1950s."

Despite efforts by many people in Memphis, some Carnival Krewes have stopped operating in recent years.