Beaux Arts Krewe Ball returns, to mark 50th year

It’s a scene out of a 16th-century fairy tale.

The king, in an immense train, welcomes revelers to the annual ball while the community, dressed in brilliant reds and deep purples with gold accents, watches as young ladies in bright white gowns are presented to society by their fathers.

And while it sounds like fantasy, it is the scene that has both brought the community together to celebrate and support a cause for 50 years.

The annual Beaux Arts Krewe Ball has its origins in 1966, when Anne Kidd, who was in charge of the annual Jewel Ball, which raised money for the Birmingham Museum of Art, was dismayed to find that after the event, the decorations were discarded. 

It was then former ball aid and correspondence secretary Winston Carl said that Kidd decided the event needed a formal support group.

That way, she said the group could continue to regularly support the BMA, while not wasting the intricate costumes and decorations.

Carl said Kidd pulled together 125 local men who were highly involved in the community and in their support of the BMA, and the Beaux Arts Krewe was founded.

Inspired by the history of royalty, Westminster Abbey and Mardi Gras, Carl said the theme going forward was set.

“In the early years, the costumes were hysterical,” Carl said, describing how the wives of the founding members set to making the decadent costumes and banners, cutting, sewing and gluing each by hand.

Originally, each banner and costume cape corresponded to a particular name or family, but Carl said a leak in the warehouse where the items were kept caused many of the originals to be ruined, and now the banners are generic.

As to the reason the theme was chosen, Carl said most agree it came out of Birmingham’s lack of a formal Mardi Gras celebration.

Where Mobile and the coastal communities have parades and there are some small celebrations by civic clubs, Carl said it was always too cold or the weather to inclement for the city to set up anything that was continuously attended.

And besides, she said, Birmingham is more about partying for a cause.

“Birmingham seems to always have organizations that support something,” she said. “When they do an organization, it has a purpose.”

Proceeds of the Ball were set up in a fund, so that whenever enough was accumulated, the museum could purchase a piece, rather than each event trying to fund an item. Over the last 50 years, the Krewe has raised over $1 million for art aquisitions.

And while things have certainly grown since 1966, Carl said the heart of the event remains unchanged.

“The whole idea is basically the same,” she said.

The young women are presented by their fathers or sponsors, a queen and ladies-in-waiting are chosen from the year’s princesses, and members gather to celebrate in their opulent attire.

“It’s a very pretty presentation,” she said. “There’s a lot of movement.”

While the 2017 Krewe Ball will be no different, Carl said the Krewe does plan to recognize former kings and queens at the presentation in honor of the 50th anniversary, which was formally celebrated in November.

The 2017 Krewe Ball is Feb. 24 at Boutwell Auditorium.