Walking into the palace Ellen Street Campus had become, senior Rachel Anderson sparkles in her homecoming dress and joins a small group of other princesses to volunteer for the Enchanted Princess Ball, an event where college-age actors and actresses take on the persona of Disney characters and perform scenes, songs and dances from the movies.  The event had been requested to come to Fenton by a group of mothers who had seen it previously near the Fox Theatre with their daughters.

    “I volunteered through NHS to help little girls get ready for the ball,” Anderson said.  “Once I got there, I worked the glitter tattoo station.  The girls chose designs and sparkle colors and I applied them.”

After the girls had their faces and nails painted and their hands tattooed, they were led to the gym, which had been transformed into a ballroom.  They crossed a bridge in the doorway over a small man-made stream with live fish and walked under strings of lights to their tables to wait for the show to start.

    “The set-up was enchanting and truly made the girls feel royal,” Anderson said.  “There were pink and purple place settings at each table and bows on every chair.”

    The volunteers prepared and passed out refreshments to the tables alongside the actors, and were rewarded for their work by getting to stay for the show.

    “I loved the interactive aspect of the ball,” senior Lauren Rumbles said.  “The princes and princesses went up to the kids and even invited them to a dance party on stage twice.”

    During the dance, the volunteers were free to experience the show with the younger girls.

“My favorite part was the end when all the characters came out and sang Party in the USA as the finale of the show,” senior Caitlin Wiley said.  “It’s not normally a song that I like, but seeing my favorite Disney characters and all of the little kids and parents dancing to it was awesome!”

The fun didn’t end with the final dance number, though.  Rumbles stayed to clean up after the last show, and had the chance to meet and talk to the actors.

“Many of the actors go to local colleges such as MSU and Oakland University,” Rumbles said. “They are all huge Disney fans and amazing performers! I want to propose the ball as an official event, so NHS can help out with it again next year.”