A park in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood will be filled with 400 princesses and their families this weekend, as Princess Day celebrates diverse images of beauty to uplift children from all over New England.
When Black and brown children search for images of princesses online, the photos that pop up rarely show someone who looks like them. That's just one of the reasons Boston artist Valerie Stevens created Princess Day- to celebrate little girls of color.
"My grand niece and I were walking and she had her little dress and shoes," Stevens said. "A white woman came up to her and asked her if she was Snow White. And my response to her very quickly was, 'No this is princess day.'"
Over the past 10 years, Princess Day at Gertrude Howes Playground on Moreland Street in Roxbury has grown from 25 to 400 children from all over New England.
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"When I saw the smiles on the little girls' faces, and when I saw them in their favorite costume, it was just beautiful," Princess Day team member Makeysha Montgomery said.
Princess Day will feature a multi-generational, multi-cultural event geared toward the entire family Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature musical and dance performances, face painting, the Boston Police Department ice cream truck, crown and sash making workshops, complementary books and prize giveaways.
"Broadway Over Boston has come in and graciously given us 120 tickets to next week of Anastasia, the matinee, for our princesses and their families," Stevens said.
Because Princess Day is a free event, organizers are reaching out to the community for donations and volunteers.
"For so long we haven’t been celebrated," Montgomery said. "And Princess Day gives us that room to celebrate us and to wear the crown and remember that were are princesses and queens in life."
Princess Day kicks off Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Gertrude Howes Playground. Everyone is welcome to attend.
