Beaux Arts Krewe presents Princesses of 2013
When Feb. 8 arrives, so will the Beaux Arts Krewe. As hosts of the 46th annual Beaux Arts Krewe Ball, these gentlemen will don the red velvet regalia as they welcome guests of this year’s royal court. Since its inception in 1967, the ball has featured a King and Queen and their train bearers as well as their courtiers: Guards, Dukes, Ladies-in-Waiting, Princesses and Pages. In the spirit of Mardi Gras, the festivities center around the King and the presentation of the Queen and her Court.
The Krewe Ball’s origins date back to the 11th Beaux Arts Jewel Ball for the Birmingham Museum of Art. That year’s ball chair, Mrs. James Mallory Kidd Jr. observed the discarding of ball’s elaborate decorations year after year. She decided to organize a support group for the museum that would have permanent costumes and decorations. Thus, the Beaux Arts Krewe began, and with 125 charter members they were off to a grand start.
As a testament to Kidd’s original idea, the Krewe Ball continues to use the same capes, banners, crest and candelabra. This will be Deborah Fleischman’s 30th year to direct the program and create the Page costumes. She works with as many as 40 children of the Krewe to present an entertaining and detailed spectacle at the ball. The Pages welcome the court with tumbling and joyful antics. Following the pages are the Dukes, the King, Train Bearers, the Ladies-in-Waiting, the Queen, and the Princesses. The young ladies all wear ball gowns of white accessorized with long white gloves. Each is presented by her sponsor from the Krewe and wears a Mardi Gras mask hand-made by the ladies of the Krewe.
The 46th annual Krewe Ball will present the following 23 Princesses: Miss Jane Austin Ault, daughter of Mr. William Allen Ault and Mrs. Francie Marrell Shuttlesworth; Miss Lindsey Harris Badham, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Walker Percy Badham III; Miss Beverley Waters Blount, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Winton Malcolm Blount IV; Miss Lenora Ireland Brown, daughter of Dr. & Mrs. Tom Tartt Brown Jr.; Miss Virginia Clayton Clark, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Lange Clark; Miss Catherine Jane Compton, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Paul Compton Jr.; Miss Jane Comer Crockard, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Francis Hearne Crockard III; Miss Shirley Caroline Crozier, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Ted Archer Crozier, Jr.; Miss Frances Newman Deaton, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Ogden Shropshire Deaton; Miss Delia Thornton Folk, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Glover Mitchell Bruhn and Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Rush Folk; Miss Sarah Reid Harris, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Ashley Harris; Miss Taylor Gore Hiden, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. William Mudd Hiden; Miss Margaret Livingston Hindman, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Brian Ward Hindman; Miss Margaret Richardson King, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Mark Steven King; Miss Mary Riley Ogilvie, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Morgan Oslin Ogilvie Jr.; Miss Sara Frazer Oliver, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Thomason Oliver III; Miss Margaret Alexandra Pitts, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. William Henry Pitts II; Miss Melissa Jane Teel Robinson, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Gordon Robinson III; Miss Anne DeWitt Thompson, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Michael DeWitt Thompson; Miss Eugenia Maxwell Thompson, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Michael DeWitt Thompson; Miss Elizabeth Bailey Troiano, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Donald Meador Troiano; Miss Elizabeth Ann Williams, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Turner Butler Williams; and Miss Alexandra Ray Wilson, daughter of Dr & Mrs. John Stephen Wilson.
One of these ladies will be revealed as the Queen at the Ball, while four others will be presented as the Queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting.
To usher in the week of Mardi Gras preceding the ball, the Beaux Arts Krewe members fly flags at their homes. Although these flags were at one time given solely to those Krewe members who had been King, they now grace the homes of each member of the Beaux Arts Krewe. Each flag boasts the Beaux Arts Krewe Coat of Arms emblazoned with symbols that represent the organization’s commitment to the Birmingham and the arts.