It's a Given. Winter Carnival's 85th Boreas is longtime St. Paul businessman Billy Given
Jan. 29—Billy Given has been to more Winter Carnival royalty coronations than many of even the most dedicated denizens of "The Coolest Celebration on Earth."
But never in the coronation spotlight — that is, until Friday night when the longtime St. Paul businessman was named the 85th King Boreas. (Check our Winter Carnival section on TwinCities.com Saturday for an interview with the new Aurora, Queen of the Snows.)
"I watched coronation as a young boy. I watched coronation as a busboy. I watched coronation as a caterer," Given said last week before he wore the crown at coronation.
Given's association with the royal proceedings goes back to the Prom Ballroom, which was located at University Avenue and Lexington Parkway and was the site of many Winter Carnival coronations over the years. Given's dad ran the Prom, which later became the Prom Center, from the early 1960s until he sold it to his sons, Billy and Tom, in 1987.
When the dance music faded, the Prom moved into events and catering and eventually moved to Smith Avenue to be closer to the St. Paul Civic Center, which was a prime catering client, Given explained. A new Prom opened in Oakdale in 1998, where the Given brothers ran it for about 19 years, selling it three years ago. It's now called Inwood Oaks.
Given says that though he was never a Carnival prince or prime minister, the catering connection brought him close to the volunteers, former royalty and others behind the St. Paul tradition. "I was busy with my career, but I've followed Carnival closely," he said.
He's had plenty of time to prepare for the royal duties ahead. Given was supposed to be the 2021 Boreas, but due to the pandemic, the 2020 royals stuck around for another year. So he's been involved in the process for about three years. As has his wife, Nancy. Though Given says she's a "Minneapolis girl," she's prepared for the more than 300 appearances the Royal Family makes during their reign.
Given has been mentoring with outgoing Boreas Darrin Johnson, and Nancy has attended all the mentoring meetings, Given says.
"I love Carnival," he says. "I've always revered the kings — major league successful businessmen."
When someone is approached to take the reins of the reign, he's asked: Can you afford it? (Boreas covers all of his own expenses, from creating a coat of arms to travel costs.) Do you have the time? (Given retired about two and a half years ago.) Do you have the personality and the stamina? (Given is a longtime ski racer and has made a career in the hospitality industry.)
Given's family (son, Will, 20, is in college in Colorado, and daughter, Caroline, 18, is a senior at Hill-Murray) is used to him being away from home. His catering business has long been involved in food operations — concessions and top-end banquets and events — for major golf tournaments for two decades. He's worked with 640 pro golf tournaments in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The tally: 19 consecutive U.S. Opens, 16 consecutive Players Championships, eight Presidents Cups, Women's Opens, Senior Opens and Walker Cups. He's been hired by the U.S. Golf Association as a food consultant for the 2022 U.S. Open in May in Brookline, Mass.
Given plays golf, as well as feeds golfers, and has about a 14 handicap. Though he could golf one or two times a week, he doesn't hit the links often. "I've spent a lot of time in golf carts and a lot of time on golf courses ... maybe it's not as novel for me as it is for most retirees."
This guy who spends a lot of time on green golf courses isn't afraid of the snowy outdoor events ahead as Boreas. Given was a ski racer until about a year ago. His team won national titles in 1993 and 1994, and his daughter is an alpine skier.
He's even got his Boreas beard, he says, though it's more of a goatee this year. He usually starts growing a beard in November for the ski season. He'll fit right in with the guys who are participating in the first Winter Carnival Beard-Growing contest this year.
A "St. Paul kid," born and raised at Woodlawn and Sargent, Given went to Groveland Elementary until fifth grade, then to St. Paul Academy, where he graduated in 1975. After a year at St. Olaf and two years at the University of Minnesota, he graduated with a bachelor's of science degree from the prestigious "hotel school" at Cornell University in New York. After college, he worked with his dad and brother at the Prom until his dad sold the business to them. Given and his family live in Stillwater.
Given, 65, calls his last Carnival catering job at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in 1992 "one of the highlights of my career." That was the year of Super Bowl XXVI in the Twin Cities and the tallest ice palace ever built for a St. Paul Winter Carnival. At the banquet, Given came down the runway in a tuxedo, followed by 30 servers, each carrying a dessert torte replica of the ice palace with a sparkler on each. "I'm very proud of that day and that moment in time," he says.
There's more to being Boreas than parades and parties, though. Each Boreas chooses a charity and a motto. Given's charity is Rondo Center for Diverse Expression.
His motto is "Bringing Us All Together," which Given says is more important than ever during times of pandemic isolation and political and racial divides. The key word in his motto is All, he says.
"This our city, and we haven't had a celebration in two years," says Boreas LXXXV. "Let's enjoy the city. Let's enjoy winter. Let's enjoy one another and have some fun."
Info: Here's a list of events for the 2022 St. Paul Winter Carnival, including the King Boreas Grande Day Parade, which starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday in downtown St. Paul.
KING BOREAS REX LXXXV
— Who: William "Billy" Given, 2022 Winter Carnival Boreas Rex LXXXV
— Age: 65
— Family: Wife, Nancy; son, Will, 20; daughter, Caroline, 18
— Lives in: Stillwater
— Occupation: Retired CEO of Prom Center
— Boreas motto: "Bringing Us All Together"
— Boreas charity: Rondo Center for Diverse Expression
— Fun fact: At 5 feet, 5 inches tall, Given says he's "one of the shorter" King Boreas
