A group of girls and their moms were able to spend a few hours as princesses and queens at a tea party Saturday hosted by Building Community Bridges.
The Queens and Their Princesses High Tea was held to raise money for BCB's art department. Queens and princesses were able to come, dressed up however they liked, to drink tea, play games and have a princess dance party in a community room at Living Hope Church.
Many of the girls were dressed like their favorite Disney princesses. Aubrey Horn, 4, was dressed as Elsa from the movie "Frozen," while her new friend, Aleece Jones, 4, sat next to her clad in Princess Jasmine's blue satin outfit from "Aladdin."
Aleece's mother, Aleesha Jones, said she brought her daughter because she loves princesses, but being able to support the nonprofit was a bonus.
"I first heard about (BCB) when the tornado happened, and I knew they did a lot of good for the community, and I saw that it was something that she would enjoy doing and we could do together," Aleesha said.
The two girls met at the tea party, and within minutes, they were running around the room hand-in-hand, playing together like old friends. A future play date may be in order, the mothers said.
While the tea and lunch was being prepared, the princesses and queens were able to color paper crowns. Then, they were served tea - or hot chocolate - and plates of treats fit for a queen, including heart-shaped sandwiches and sugar cookies that looked like tea bags.
During princess bingo, the attendees marked cards full of princess-related words like "royal" and "glass slipper." Aubrey was able to call out bingo after she crossed out the word "tiara," and claimed a box of candy as a prize.
The party ended with a dance party, with all the princesses gathering to jump around and spin together to their favorite children's tunes.
The funds from the tea party will go toward new chairs for the art department's room at the BCB building at 213 E. Ashley St. The party raised around $400.
Building Community Bridges offers a mix of free programs for children in Jefferson City, including dance, music and sports, along with the art program, Executive Director Alicia Edwards said. They also offer some programs for adults.
"Our goal is to have affordable, free activities for children, so that no child is left behind when it comes to extracurricular activities," Edwards said.
Sarah Feisel, director of the art department, said this was the first fundraiser hosted specifically the art department, and she was pleased with the turnout.
"We're trying to make an opportunity for kids that maybe couldn't afford it. I have one family that has four kids, and even if it was $20 a pop, they wouldn't be able to afford that," Feisel said.
The art department is fairly new, she said. Right now, Feisel holds art classes on alternating Fridays for two groups of children - littles, ages 4-10, and bigs, ages 8 and older. Her oldest student is 16.
They do different projects every week, like painting, coloring or making slime. Soon, they'll try doing a clay-based class.
Feisel said while the art room has some chairs, they are mismatched and frequently taken out for other uses.
"We're trying to get enough money to buy chairs that live in the art department," Feisel said.
More information about the art classes and other upcoming BCB events can be found on the organization's Facebook page.