View source for History of the Winter Carnivals



[[File:Early Ice Palace.jpg|right|thumb||Apparently this is the 1901 Ice Palace (the first one illuminated by electricity)]] This detailed list of the activities of each ''''''[[Winter%20Carnival|Winter Carnival]] was compiled by Edna Finn, edited and extended by George DeChant and Katee Morgan Fobare.
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%201898%20through%201920|Winter Carnival, 1898 through 1920]]
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%201921%20through%201960|Winter Carnival, 1921 through 1960]]
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%201961%20through%201980|Winter Carnival, 1961 through 1980]]
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%201981%20through%201990|Winter Carnival, 1981 through 1990]]
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%201991%20through%202000|Winter Carnival, 1991 through 2000]]
* [[Winter%20Carnival%2C%202000%20through%202010|Winter Carnival, 2000 through 2010]]
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'''Winter Carnival Time Line'''

'''1898''' - Feb. 1 & 2 First Winter Carnival/ice tower.

'''1899''' - First [[Ice%20Palace|Ice Palace]] (Ice Fortress).

'''1907''' - First husband and wife royalty: King Dr. [[E.%20R.%20Baldwin|E. R. Baldwin]]; Queen: Mrs. [[Mary%20Baldwin|Mary Baldwin]]

'''1951''' - First Rotary Variety Show.

'''1952''' - First Woodsmen's Exhibition

'''1953''' - First paid celebrity King and Queen

'''1968''' - Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce has a contest to name Princess — Betty Jean Dufort from [[St.%20Pius%20X%20High%20School|St. Pius X High School]]

'''1969''' - [[North%20Country%20Community%20College|North Country Community College]] provides a princess

'''1971''' - Return to community member as King and Queen

'''1975''' - First year Royalty Reception is held at Elks Club

'''1977''' - Rotary Show is the theatre production: "Anything Goes"

- Coronation no longer part of the Rotary Show and takes place first day of Carnival

'''1978''' - [[Louis%20P.%20Fobare|Louis P. Fobare]] Award, best in the parade, first awarded

'''1981''' - First carnival button designed by [[Garry%20Trudeau|Garry Trudeau]]

'''1983''' - First Softball on Snowshoes

'''1984''' - First Trudeau Award: Sue Dyer

'''1984''' - stopped using voting machine, Winter Carnival Committee did the Selecting in 1984 & 1985

'''1986''' - King and queen names nominated by public and selected by a committee of former kings and queens

- First son/mother King: [[Ronald%20B.%20Keough|Ronald B. Keough]]; Queen: [[Mildred%20Keough|Mildred Keough]]

'''1991''' - First time the Royal Robes worn at outdoor events

'''1997''' - First Interfaith Church Service.

'''1998''' - First [[http://www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com/history/|Sara the Snowy Owl]] Fable and mascot.

'''1999''' - First Carnival with two weekends, Coronation moved to Friday. Lighting of the Palace on Saturday.

- First Murder Mystery at [[Hotel%20Saranac|Hotel Saranac]]

- First Arts Council of Northern Adirondacks Concert at the [[Harrietstown%20Town%20Hall|Harrietstown Town Hall]].

'''2002''' - Ladies’ Fry Pan Toss (Sponsored by Mainely Lobster)
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'''<span>HOW MANY CARNIVALS HAVE THERE BEEN ANYWAY?'''

'''From the 2015 Winter Carnival Program'''

<span> By <span>Jeff Dickson, <span><span>Program Editor

<span>This is a question we get asked a lot.<span>  The individual asking the question is looking for a number.<span>  What they often get is an awkward silence.<span>  It depends on how things are counted.<span>  First the simple answer.<span>  The Pontiac Club was formed in 1897 to put on a winter carnival and did so on February 1 & 2, 1898 – complete with something called an Ice Tower – clearly the predecessor of our current Ice Palace.<span>  It is therefore correct to say that the 2015 Winter Carnival is the 117<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the first Winter Carnival.<span>  However, there is also a historical record, documented by historian Mary Hotaling, of a celebration of winter event in 1897 which included a hockey game and fancy dress skating party (which was termed in the press at the time a “carnival”).<span>  In the spirit that bigger/higher/faster/longer is better, and acknowledging that it is a somewhat arbitrary decision we will declare this to be the 118<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the first winter carnival.

<span>Lots of missing years, winter celebrations called by another name, winter sports athletic events and the incompleteness of the record makes simply counting Winter Carnivals a daunting task.<span>  What makes it a carnival?<span>  Do we need an Ice Palace?<span>  What about a parade?<span>  Fireworks?<span>  Do a series of skating races constitute a carnival?<span>  How about if we add in barrel-jumping?<span>  If we agree that years in which there is no evidence of any winter event whatsoever should not be counted, we eliminate 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910 and 1912.<span>  Also 1928 through 1935 and 1937 through 1945 and 1947.<span>  (I have listed 1947 because a carnival commenced on December 31, 1947 and continued for several days into 1948. <span> I am counting that as the 1948 carnival.<span>  Similarly during the winter of 1948-49.)<span>  That eliminates 24 years from consideration.<span>  In addition, there were 12 years in which skating races were held but there is no evidence of anything more that would qualify as a full-fledged carnival.<span>  And finally there is the mystery of 1902.<span>  A flyer exists which describes a carnival and lists a schedule of events but there is no evidence, either newspaper or otherwise, that it actually happened.<span>  I’m going to count this as a no-carnival year.<span>   

<span>Since carnival was re-established in the winter of 1947-48, it has been an annual tradition with no further breaks in continuity.<span>  Carnival has been held on Lincoln’s Birthday weekend (now President’s Day) since 1950.<span>  So – by my count – this is either the 93rd Winter Carnival or the 81st Winter Carnival or the 118<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the first Winter Carnival.<span>  And even some of these numbers are off if there actually was one in 1902.

<span>I am fully aware that I have not cleared up the mystery.<span>  But I have tried to give you as many facts as we have at our disposal to allow you each to decide for yourselves.<span>  The information presented herein was extracted from research provided by then Village of Saranac Lake and Town of Harrietstown Historian [[Edna%20Finn|Edna C. Finn]] in a paper dated October 1, 1993.<span>  This was supplemented by information supplied by [[Mary%20Hotaling|Mary Hotaling]].<span>  They did the rather exhaustive research, all I did was count.

<span> 

'''External link:'''
* [[http://www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com/history/|Saranac Lake Winter Carnival - History]]

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