Savannah Cotillion Club

Savannah Cotillion Club
Formation1817 (207 years ago) (1817)
Location

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

  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. ^ a b c 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.