Cotton Carnival Memphis
James joseph keras iii.
Cotton carnival memphis. The secret order of boll weevils was founded in 1966 as a secret society. The annual pageant was sponsored by the national cotton council ncc memphis cotton carnival and the cotton exchanges of memphis new york and new orleans. It worked as people began to demand more cotton products from socks to ball gowns and the rest as they say is history. The grand krewe of ennead is one of ten grand krewes affiliated with the carnival memphis organization formerly cotton carnival.
The pageant was held in memphis tennessee in conjunction with the carnival until the 1980s. Each grand krewe is an autonomous organization having its own board of directors executive committee royalty and members. The party with a purpose since 1931. Carnival memphis formerly known as the memphis cotton carnival is a series of parties and festivities staged annually since 1931 in memphis tennessee by the centralized carnival memphis association and its member krewes similar to that of mardi gras during the month of june.
2 798 likes 13 talking about this 324 were here. Year king queen president. Cotton carnival became a major festival not rivaled anywhere in the south except possibly new orleans and the event began to incorporate more than it had originally set out to do. The south s greatest party became memphis most important and celebrated event.
The prosperity of the mid south was dependent on cotton and measures had to be taken to increase the use of this precious. Carnival memphis formerly known as the memphis cotton carnival is a series of parties and festivities staged annually since 1931 in memphis tennessee by the centralized carnival memphis association and its member krewes similar to that of mardi gras during the month of june. In 1931 memphis and the mid south like the rest of our country were in the throes of the great depression. The arrival of the royal barge was the event not to be missed.
Many were out of work and the region s primary asset cotton was selling for pennies a pound. The initial mission was to have mischievous fun with the memphis cotton carnival elite crash their parties and make memphis cotton carnival a little more colorful experience much like real life boll weevils creating mayhem on cotton crops. Carnival memphis memphis tn. James brinkley taylor jr.