Legend of the Carnival
St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation
A long, long time ago, Astraios, the god of Starlight, and Eos, the goddess of the Rosy-Fingered Morn, were wed. The union was blessed with five sons: Boreas, Titan, Euros, Zephyrus and Notos. As the eldest, Boreas was granted the title of "King of the Winds," and he assigned to each brother a permanent grant of great force and power.
Titan was assigned the blustery North Wind. Euros was granted control of the irresponsible East Wind. Zephyrus was given custody of the bountiful West Wind. Notos was presented the balmy South Wind. The brothers cavorted gaily over land and sea.
Boreas, while on his extensive travels, came upon a winter paradise known as Minnesota. He paused to behold the enchanting beauty of a magnificent group of seven gently sloping hills in whose embrace nestled a beautiful city. Boreas whistled in sheer ecstasy, "Historic St. Paul and her seven hills! An ideal place. I will make St. Paul the capital of all my domains. It will henceforth be emblazoned to the world as the winter playground of the Realm of Boreas."
Meanwhile, Vulcanus, the god of Fire, and the implacable enemy of Boreas, vowed: "By the great sword of Mars, I will temper the blusterings of Boreas with the heat and roar of my forces."
Undaunted, Boreas proclaimed a celebration in the spirit of gay Carnival. "So be it!" shouted Boreas, "There will be a Carnival in old St. Paul!" Boreas selected a Prime Minister to coordinate preparations in all the Principalities, Provinces and Royal Houses within the realm of St. Paul.
And so, for 10 glorious days, there was Carnival and joyous celebration in St. Paul. Boreas and the Queen of the Snows, the fairest maiden of the realm, reigned with the four Winds, accompanied each by a Princess from the realm of Boreas. Klondike Kate, a lady of song and merriment, added her sassy but enchanting voice to the festivities by singing songs of desire and sentiment.
On the 10th day of celebration, Vulcanus Rex and his Krewe stormed the magnificent ice castle and confronted the King's Guard. Upon the good counsel of the Queen, Boreas bade farewell to the people of his winter capital in the interest of peace and goodwill and returned to dwell among the gods of Olympus, until summer's warmth was relinquished again.
During the 1990’s, the St Paul Pioneer Press opened online discussion forums. These forums were called Water Coolers. The forums had discussion topics related to sports, politics, news, and current events. Each year, the Pioneer Planet – the online section of the Pioneer Press – opened a discussion forum as a media for hunters to discuss the clues for the Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt.
During the earlier years, one might find a few hundred posts during the hunt. As more hunters had computers, those numbers jumped. From 1997 to 1998, the number of posts increased from the hundreds to the 5-digit thousands. It was during the 1998 hunt the Cooler Crew was born.
The community spirit and teamwork displayed in the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt thread was inspiring. The group of hunters found themselves at the end of a hunt not wanting to let go of new friendships and the camaraderie found on the Water Cooler board. The idea emerged to do what anyone would do in the middle of winter in Minnesota. A picnic in Cherokee was planned - the first Rehash Bash!
