Children Emulate Their Favorite Book Characters At Storybook Ball
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Hundreds of children dressed up as their favorite book characters for the Storybook Ball at the Please Touch Museum on Saturday evening.
Hansel and Grettel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs and some other characters you've probably never heard of spent the evening wondering around a makeshift storybook land.
"Who are you today?"
"I'm a fairy princess dinosaur tamer," said four-year-old Astrid.
Astrid created her own character, and mom and dad, got into the act too.
"My husband is a mad scientist and I'm a magrat from Terry Pratchett's "Lords and Ladies."
And they're not the only one. There were princes, pirates, pooh bears and lots of princesses.
Paula Davis dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, and her three-year-old granddaughter Sydney is Cinderella.
"We're a member of the Please Touch Museum and we really enjoy ourselves when we come here."
"You will see Cinderella, Snow White, some Alice in Wonderlands."
Stephanie Capello is the Museum's vice president of development and says the ball is one of the museum's most well attended events.
"I think it's always fun to be a kid and to play dress up when you can do it with your kids. Please Touch Museum is really about learning through play."
The Ball included Story Time with children's book authors, a huge dance party and Cinderella carriage rides through Fairmount Park. There were also a number of storybook characters on hand to add to the fairytale flavor of the evening.
"This is the cutest event in the city of Philadelphia. I think we rival Disney for the number of princesses that we have here."
Capello says the ball raised more than $98,000 and the proceeds will go to the museum's program, Play Without Boundaries, which is for children with special needs. For more information about the Please Touch Museum, visit to www.pleasetouchmuseum.org.
