Megan Quiggle was in a meeting outside the St. Paul RiverCentre’s ballroom on Friday when a Whitney Houston song began blasting over the speakers at the rehearsal for the St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation:
“Whatever you want, whatever you need
“Anything you want done, baby
“I’ll do it naturally
“’Cause I’m every woman (every woman)
“It’s all in me, it’s all in me, yeah!”
“Oh!” Quiggle cried, jumping up and running toward the ballroom stage. “That’s me!”
She meant her cue, but her words also sum up her role as Prime Minister of the 2019 Royal Family of the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
“I’m kind of the logistics manager,” Quiggle said.
There’s a lot to manage: As a group, the royal family will make hundreds of appearances over the next year, not only locally but also traveling to places as far away as Canada and Florida to serve as civic boosters. The Winter Carnival Legend decrees Quiggle’s role in this family: “Boreas selected a Prime Minister to coordinate preparations in all the Principalities, Provinces and Royal Houses within the realm of Saint Paul.”
She can manage
Quiggle, 48, is used to managing logistics: In addition to working as a preschool teacher for the Mounds View School District, she and her husband, Barry, are raising a big family in St. Paul, including sons they adopted from Haiti.
Although the Quiggles are raising their kids to celebrate winter, Quiggle herself grew up in suburban Chicago, where the community was more focused more on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
“They turn the river green,” she said.
She learned about the St. Paul Winter Carnival when she moved to Minnesota to study.
“I went to college at Bethel with Jill Mueller, the 1990 Queen of Snows,” Quiggle said. “Jill explained all of Winter Carnival to me. I said, ‘Oh, that’s … interesting.’”
It is interesting to try to explain this carnival to newcomers: A cast of elaborately costumed characters, playacting the seasonal battle between the forces of winter and spring, parading around in the elements just to show the New York Times that we revel in what their reporter in 1885 called “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” An ode to winter that can involve palaces of ice as well as parades of moon and fire, winter activities such as sledding and skating and a focus on volunteers and community service.
“Jill told me that if I got involved, it would change my life,” Quiggle said.
But Quiggle was initially drawn to pursue another tiara.
“In 1993, when I was living in Roseville, I drove by a sign in Central Park that said, ‘Miss Roseville candidates needed,’ ” Quiggle said. “I thought, ‘That might be fun.’ ”
Guess who ended up being named Miss Roseville?
As was the tradition, Miss Roseville went on to participate in the Queen of Snows pageant: This is how Quiggle — then Megan Reed — ended up winning the title of 1994 West Wind Princess.
“It did change my life, just like Jill said it would,” Quiggle said. “I found a second family.”
Beyond the tiara
During her reign, Quiggle also learned that the role of a Winter Carnival princess is about so much more than a tiara.
“Our Boreas was Ted Zwieg and that was his third time being in the royal family, so he really helped give me that sense of why we were doing what we were doing and how community service was at the heart of it,” said Quiggle. “It’s bigger than me or any one person. This whole festival is a family and there are a lot of people involved — year round — to make it happen.”
Quiggle has been one of those people: Besides enjoying Winter Carnival with her family, Quiggle has been active as a leader with the Past Princess Assocation, an alumni organization that is involved with everything from fundraising to mentorship to volunteering — including serving on the selection committee that helps choose the queen and princesses each year.
This past princess came to mind when it was time for Monte Johnson, the current King Boreas, to select a Prime Minister.
“I was Prime Minister in 1990, so I had a good idea of what it takes,” Johnson said. “It takes an articulate and organized person who is serious about the job, and, since it’s also a volunteer role, is passionate about it.”
Quiggle’s articulate and organized nature put her on the king’s short list, which became even shorter when he interviewed her.
“We seemed to be on the same page in terms of how we view Winter Carnival,” Quiggle said. “You want to make sure, during the year, that everyone has a good experience, both inside the royal family and outside of the royal family. Because while you want to make sure your group is having a good time, we’re also there to promote St. Paul and promote the festival.”
That includes welcoming diversity — Quiggle is one of only a few people of color who have held a leadership role in the Carnival’s 133-year history.
“St. Paul is a diverse city,” Quiggle said, “and we want people to know that the Winter Carnival is accessible to all.”
(The royal family, after meeting with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, is currently brainstorming ways to let more people know about the accessibility to winter’s fun, including one idea involving snowball fights at community centers.)
Family affair
Before the coronation of the 2019 royal family, Quiggle met with the King’s guard, a group of 10 men and women who serve to support the royal family, and presented them with gift bags and a pep talk.
“It’s a huge amount of time, it’s a huge personal expense, and not everybody is willing to do that,” Quiggle told them. “You’re already part of an elite group of people who are willing to do this Winter Carnival thing, and so we’re family. We’re family now … I just want to say thank you — and enjoy this night.”
The moment illustrates why Quiggle said yes when King Boreas asked her to step up and serve the Winter Carnival as Prime Minister.
“I feel this sense of history,” Quiggle said.
It’s a different history from that of a princess; some say the Prime Minister is the hardest-working volunteer in Carnival.
“The workload is different,” Quiggle admits. “As part of the leadership team, it’s a lot of behind-the-scenes and preparation … there are a lot of moving pieces, both during Carnival and all year long. We’re currently managing requests for Oktoberfest. And, as Prime Minister, who introduces the royal family in public, I have the unique role of being both behind the scenes and in front of the camera.”
But she’s still got a fleet of past princesses ready to support her.
“The princesses were literally dancing down the aisle when they accompanied my family at coronation,” Quiggle said. “They were backstage, too, coming up to me to tell me how proud they were of me and how thankful they were that I was doing this. I saw their faces in the crowd, all these women I have known so many years, celebrating with me.”
It wasn’t just at coronation: When Quiggle tripped and hurt her back, the princess support included offers of ibuprofen and heating pads.
“It’s so meaningful,” Quiggle said, “to have this whole sisterhood of support.”
To honor her sisters, Quiggle wears a Past Princess Association snowflake logo on the sleeve of her Prime Minister uniform. In return, they’ve given her a new (unofficial) title.
“We’ve nicknamed Megan ‘Prime-cess,'” said Gena Hughes, the current president of the Past Princess Association.
Meanwhile, at home, Quiggle’s husband is holding down the fort — really.
“Today, the kids built a snow fort,” he said. “They love the winter — not the cold, but the winter. Just like their mom.”
Copyright 2019 Pioneer Press.
