Khaleaw@indyrecorder.com
“Tiana’s Joyful Celebration’, the first museum exhibition dedicated to Disney’s Princess Tiana, is at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum through Jan. 3. I visited the exhibit on Saturday, Nov. 7 to assist Tiana in preparing for a Mardi Gras parade in the neighborhood where she grew up.
This bilingual exhibit takes guests through an experience that embodies the nuance of New Orleans culture with the guidance of Princess Tiana and her friends. Every part of the exhibit has two options for language, English or Spanish. The experience includes helping the band rehearse, painting a mural, harvesting vegetables, making bracelets, designing Mardi Gras costumes, preparing “Daddy’s gumbo” and more, all while adding your own unique spice.
Before attending the exhibit, I spoke with the Indianapolis Children’s Museum’s Director of Exhibits, Melissa Pederson. Pederson shared details about the collaboration between the children’s museum and Imagineering. She said the project began in 2024 when Imagineering shared that they were looking for museums to tell Tiana’s story outside of Disney parks. She and her team sent over a proposal, and the process began.
She described the creation of the exhibit as a team effort that included traveling to New Orleans to ensure that the capture of the essence of Tiana’s life and environment. The team visited places like the Jazz Museum, Louisiana Children’s Museum and Leah Chase’s restaurant, “Dooky Chase.” She said Leah Chase’s daughter Stella played a big part in emphasizing the authenticity of the exhibit. Pederson said they had to visit New Orleans to see it and to feel it.
“We wanted to make sure we got the full scope … making sure to capture the art, the music, the dancing, but first and foremost, the sense of community, which is so beautifully unique to New Orleans,” she said.
Pederson told The Recorder that the exhibit is full of fun and educational activities for children of all ages, and she was right. Along my journey of helping Tiana prepare for the Mardi Gras parade, I had a little helper of my own, my 3-year-old niece.
“We knew that they would actually gravitate to different kinds of things. So, when they come in, they can build and stack. They can paint, they can design fashion, they can make music, they can dance, they can cook food … because every kid is a little bit different.” Pederson said.
At the entrance, we were welcomed by Princess Tiana on a large screen surrounded by photos of her and her family as if we were in her family’s home.
Directly after the greeting, we emerged into Tiana’s world. I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the exhibit was because the space captured what I imagine New Orleans feels like. The ambiance was set with warm colorful lights such as purple, green and yellow. The exhibit was filled with joyful children moving excitedly from one area to another.
My niece gravitated towards the culinary activities most. Tiana’s Petit Palace, on Wheels which is an interactive food truck that encourages the children to help make Tiana’s daddy’s famous gumbo for other “hungry helpers.”
The children wore aprons and whipped up gumbo, rice and french bread for all the guests sitting at the tables next to the food truck. The children began serving up full stalks of celery as side dishes instead of french bread and the “hungry helpers” munched along while thanking the chefs for the delicious food.
The other station that held her attention most was the “Make a New Hot Sauce” with Louis. There is a large screen with Louis, Tiana’s alligator friend, directing the participant to choose three different ingredients to create a recipe for a new hot sauce. Louis is verbally encouraging the participant by saying things that include, “Let’s keep going, one more to go!” throughout the discovery of the recipe.
There are many ingredients to choose from such as lemons, onions, molasses, honey, peaches and red chilli peppers. After the participant gathers their three ingredients, they are directed to blend it up, another interactive aspect of the activity.
My favorite hot sauce my niece created was a mild onion hot sauce, with her trio of ingredients being garlic, onion and celery.
One of my favorite pieces of the exhibit is the “Make a Mardi Gras Mask” with Charlotte, Princess Tiana’s childhood friend. You follow along with her guidance, choosing the colors and accessories like feathers and jewels for the mask. Afterwards, your virtual mask appears across your face on the screen, and you can take a photo and email it home.
I enjoyed the costume design activity because the children could mix and match vests, tops, skirts, shorts and masks, letting their personal style show. This station seems perfect for a child in a primary school who has an interest in fashion design.
Pederson shared that she feels connected to all the pieces, but one of her favorites has to be the virtual mural painting activity.
I think older children would also enjoy the dance tutorial and the puppet show. There are large screens placed in the middle of the experience, where a choreographer is teaching a beginner friendly dance sequence for children who enjoy dancing. The free puppet show is available to all children inside the exhibit.
I walked away from the exhibit with an understanding of Tiana’s story and its importance for our youth. Though Tiana’s Joyful Celebration is based in New Orleans, I believe this exhibit is momentous for the Indianapolis community. It is important for girls and boys of all kinds to have representation and accessibility to resources that reflect parts of who they are.
“No matter what their special spice is, they can use that talent, combine it with the people in their communities’ talents, and make something big and beautiful. Solve big juicy problems and just make the world a better place,” Pederson said.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Kha’Lea Wainwright at (317)762-7848 or KhaleaW@indyrecorder.com.
Kha'Lea Wainwright is a Staff Writer with the Recorder. She is a graduate of Kentucky State University, with a background in communications, public relations, and performing arts.
