The Ka-Noo-No Karnival

A century ago, the New York State Fair wasn't the only major happening in Syracuse around the Labor Day holiday. An organization of business leaders named themselves the "Mystique Krewe of Ka-Noo-No" and created the Ka-Noo-No Karnival, which took place downtown during State Fair week. The Karnival had a Native American theme to honor and celebrate Central New York's original residents.

Started in 1905, the Karnival ran until at least 1912. Various business and civic leaders would arrive on canoes via the Erie Canal dressed up as Native American characters or the "Royal Court."

The organizers advertised the Karnival as the "Mardi Gras of the North." A comparable event would not be held again in the northeast until 1926, when Neapolitan immigrants in New York City's Little Italy decided to hold their Feast of San Gennaro. Today, the Feast is a New York institution despite the departure of many Italian-Americans from Little Italy.

During the Karnival, many buildings around downtown were spectacularly festooned with lights, as were both Clinton and Hanover Squares.

Small but elaborate floats would participate in a parade down South Salina Street after dark, where thousands lined the sidewalks. In 1906, the theme focused on Cortés' conquest of the Aztecs under Montezuma in Mexico. By modern standards, it's strange that the Karnival focused so much on the conquest of the Aztecs when it borrowed so much from the Native Americans, but at the time, society had little regard for "backward Indians."

Today, almost no large events take place downtown after dark, and what few continue are mainly limited to Clinton Square. Unlike recent events, the Karnival was intended for the entire family despite being held after late summer nightfalls. Note the float featuring Townsend School children above.