There’s a group of people in Louisville who make party appearances dressed as well-loved fairy tale and comic book characters. Three of the Princesses of Louisville, Princess Jenna Foster, Princess Monica Boes, and Princess Amanda Dawn were kind enough to answer Louisville.com’s questions!
LC: So what exactly is “Princesses of Louisville?”
Princess Monica: “Princesses of Louisville is a group of cosplayers, turned performers, founded by myself, Amanda Haas and Elaine Scharoo. We started performing together for childrens’ parties and decided to get a bit better organized as both Amanda and Elaine needed me to be their ‘Snow Princess’ for their parties and events.”
LC: How did the organization start?
Princess Monica: “I got started doing parties when parents saw my cosplay and kept asking me if I did parties. At first I said no because all I had was my cosplay! I then started acquiring the storybooks, working on an act and learning all the songs, plus the mannerisms of each character in even more scrutinizing detail! I'm also an Exercise Science major at Bellarmine University and wanted to incorporate healthy habits, which is why I bring a snack for the kids that's usually a fresh fruit or vegetable.”
Princess Amanda: “We started as a way to kind of gather our resources and meet each other. We all would get inquires about parties and events and needed more princesses, so we started the group to navigate.”
LC: How many Princesses are there? Are there any princes? Are there any other characters available for hire?
Princess Jenna: “Our group has 27 members. If one of us can’t make it to an event, chances are someone else can, which is great when it comes to scheduling! We can do two events on one day with ease! We do have a few princes. We also have fairies and we are affiliated with Kentucky Heroes (a superhero performance group) as well as the Louisville Ghostbusters. “
Princess Monica: “We were mostly doing parties by inquiry via our own cosplay pages until the suggestion for a party page came to be. After much debate, we settled on Princesses of Louisville because it indicated who we are and where we are located.
We started that page last summer and have been adding more local cosplayers to our group! We are currently 28 members strong and are rapidly growing, adding the Princes and Super Heroes."
Princess Amanda: “Lots and lots! We do have princes, we are expanding our princess group to include fairies, pirates and pretty much all kinds of entertainers except for clowns.”
LC: Which Princess/Character to you play? Why did you pick that character?
Princess Jenna: “We all play a lot of different characters. So far, I have been the Snow Princess, the Arabian princess and soon I will be performing as a snow sister. Mostly, I focus on my Arabian princess. She has always been my favorite princess, and I feel like she never gets the respect she deserves. (Seriously, you never see her on merchandise!)”
Princess Monica: “I am mostly known for my Celtic Princess and my Snow Princess (we cannot use the names due to copyright). These are the two that have really gotten me noticed in the Cosplay Community, as well as the performance community. Both of these Princesses are a little unconventional and have their own quirks, plus they're redheads and who doesn't like a redhead?”
Princess Amanda: “My character is the Mermaid Princess. I also have done a Snow Princess (of course) and the Celtic Princess. The Mermaid Princess has always been my favorite, she is bubbly and daffy and is super fun to become.”
LC: What kinds of events do you guys do?
Princess Jenna: “We do birthday parties, charity events, story times, public appearances, etc.”
Princess Monica: “We are linked with Kentucky Heroes, a local group of super hero cosplayers that do charity events. We have joined them for a few Kosair's visits. Princesses of Louisville is about believing in magic and bringing that magic to life in our everyday, that is why we also do a free charity event at least once a month, usually this occurs at one or sometimes both Barnes & Nobles in Plainview or the Summit! We do many events and post updates on our page!”
Princess Amanda: “Events of all kinds really. Mostly children's parties (they pay the bills). We are going to more conventions and local events and fair to really expand our name.”
LC: Where to you get your costumes?
Princess Jenna: “Sometimes we buy the costumes. Sometimes we make them. For me, it just depends on my skill level or the level of difficulty with the costume. Sometimes I buy pieces of the costume and make the rest.”
Princess Monica: “Many of the performers are cosplayers and make their own costumes! Or we find a high quality costume and purchase that, it all depends on our skill set, time and financial situation at the time. All the characters for hire are the ones posted in each of the performers albums. For more on other costumes that they have done I have shared links to their cosplay pages in their album.”
Princess Amanda: “I personally make all my costumes. I'm a professional seamstress so I design and create all my costumes."
LC: Any upcoming appearances?
Princess Jenna: “We have an event at Kosair's on February 13 where we will be working with 102.3 the Max as well as the Louisville Ghostbusters and maybe the Kentucky Heroes to sort and pass out valentines. We will also have a Princess Pavilion at Eminence Renaissance Festival. Princesses will be available there every weekend! Some of our group members will be doing cosplay panels at local conventions soon!”
Princess Monica: “After a few years of making appearances as the Celtic Princess at the Kentucky Renaissance Festival we are officially hired this year to be in attendance the entire Faire long! We are super excited for this opportunity, as you can imagine! We have been hard at work since December when the news was brought to us and we are eager to invited everyone out there and meet us at our Princess Pavilion! The Kentucky Renaissance Festival runs every weekend 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. from the end of May, till the beginning of July! Each weekend has a different theme and there will be different Princesses to meet each day!”
Princess Amanda: “We have a lot of appearances coming up including Kosair Hospital for a volunteer appearance, as well as the Kentucky Renaissance fair!”
You can reach the Louisville Princesses on their Facebook Page, with a website to come soon. You can follow Princess Monica, Princess Jenna, and Princess Amanda on their cosplay pages, linked.
All photos courtesy of the Louisville Princesses
