Savannah Cotillion Club

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Savannah Cotillion Club
Formation1817 (1817)
Location

The Savannah Cotillion Club (also known as the Savannah Cotillion Society) is a formal dance society based in Savannah, Georgia. Its annual Christmas Cotillion, first held in 1817,[1] it is the oldest debutante ball in the United States.[2][3] It takes place a few days before Christmas.[4]

Venues for the ball have included the Westin Savannah Harbor Hotel's grand ballroom.[5] From around 2015, it has taken place at Savannah's Marriott Riverfront hotel at the eastern end of Bay Street. The build-up to the ball takes several months, including private parties, receptions, dress fittings, and photograph portraits.[4]

The event is recreated in John Berendt's 1994 novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and 1997 movie adaptation,[4] with The Lady Chablis gatecrashing the dance in June 1987.[6]

References

  1. Goldstein, Jacob; Kedmey, Dan. "Great Moments In 1% History". query.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  2. "Hometown History: The Rosa T. Beard Debutante Club". WJBF. 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  3. Reft, Ryan (2021-12-02). "Intern Spotlight: Debutante Daughters: Celebrating Black Life at Cotillion | Unfolding History". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  4. Staff, Site (2015-11-03). "Society's Daughters". South Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  5. "Debutantes presented at Christmas Cotillion". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  6. Lady Chablis; Bouloukos, Theodore (1997). Hiding my candy : the autobiography of the grand empress of Savannah. Internet Archive. New York : Pocket Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-671-52095-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)