Princesses dine at Upper Crust Bakery

Five-year-old Jillian Bryant, dressed as the character Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," listens for her name to be called during a prize giveaway at a fundraiser for the TRYPS children's theater Saturday morning at the Upper Crust Ballroom.   ¦  JOSHUA A. BICKEL

COLUMBIA — Girls dressed as Belle, Cinderella, Pocahontas and other princesses dined at the Upper Crust Bakery on Saturday morning at TRYPS’ Royal Petite Tea Party.

Among the sweet smell English breakfast tea and dark red rose-shaped cupcakes were the more than 150 guests who came out to support Theater Reaching Young People and Schools, an organization that offers scholarships to children with an interest in theater.

The fundraiser will help raise money for the group’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” on May 16 through 18 at Columbia College. All actors in the play are children aged 7 to 19.

The cost of producing “Beauty and the Beast” will add up to about $22,000, with $4,200 alone paying for performing rights, said Jill Womack, the founder and artistic director of TRYPS.

“When we have parents put together a really specific, special fundraiser like this it is a huge help,” Womack said.

The Royal Petite Tea Party brought in more than $1,500, said Bissy Crosby, who organized the fundraiser. Crosby’s own daughter, Karis, who will be playing Belle in the upcoming production, led a game at the tea party. The game was a version of freeze dance, in which children dance to different songs while music plays but must freeze when the music stops.

Molly Beard, 7, said that dancing was her favorite part of the party.

After leading the princess freeze game, Karis Crosby posed for pictures dressed at Belle.

“It has been so much fun. The casts are so talented and so amazing to work with,” Karis Crosby said. “Bloopers are really fun because we all start laughing and having a good time.”

The party came to an end with a “princess parade” around the ballroom. Each child was given a light-up rose to walk with as a gift for attending.

“We had never done this before. We didn’t know what to expect and the response has been very encouraging,” Bissy Crosby said of the fundraiser.