ONTARIO — Three girls stood at the front of the line, watching closely for a sign that it was their turn.
“Are you ready?” a friendly security guard asked. “It’s almost time.”
The girls leaned forward as far as they could, as if preparing to sprint.
“Ok, go ahead,” the guard told them.
The trio darted forward, wrapping their arms around Brooke and Bailey Young. The real-life siblings are better known to hundreds of local children as the Snow Sisters.
“Hello there, princess,” Brooke said, smiling warmly at a little girl with a sparkly blue dress similar to her own.
The Young sisters began their journey as character performers about six years ago. Since then, the founders of A Royal Princess Party have appeared at dozens of birthday parties and community events across Ohio.
“I feel really, really fortunate that the community has embraced us in the way that they have over the past five years and that we’ve been able to make magic for so many different people,” Brooke said.
Growing up in Mansfield, the Youngs were involved in local theater and took professional voice lessons from Deborah Logan.
They put that training to use during performances, taking on different characters and singing live at each show.
“We try to embody the character fully,” Bailey said. “When I am the character, I’m not me. I don’t think like myself, I don’t act like myself. My voice is different. My mannerisms are different.”
Brooke said she finds the job more difficult than stage work, since it’s 100 percent improv.
“We never ever get asked if we’re real. I’m very proud of that,” she said. “We never break character.”
More than 100 children and their families visited the Richland Mall Saturday for a free event featuring Princesses Anna and Elsa.
Mall manager Jodi Scott said the program was more than just a great way to attract potential customers to the mall.
“We like to do events like this for the community. We’ve always been a community center,” she said.
“To have a big space where kids can come out and be able to dance and sing and have fun, that’s important.”
The Youngs sang a couple songs before leading young fans in a few choreographed dance numbers.
“It is such a beautiful experience to see (the kids) singing and dancing together,” said Brooke, who performed as Elsa.
“It’s so funny, they hold hands and they spin in circles and I’m like ‘Y’all just met each other!’ It is the cutest thing.”
Lacella Lillo attended the event with her niece and great nieces.
“They were a little shy at first, but they worked their way to the front,” Lillo said. “They got into the dancing and everything once they got in there with the other kids.”
Lillo said the singing and dancing ended a bit early after some eager fans rushed up to the princesses for hugs.
The program then proceeded to the meet-and-greet portion. For many fans, it was the most enchanting part of the day.
Some children talked with the sisters or asked questions. Others sang a bit of a song together. Most went in for a hug; some didn’t let go for a minute or two.
“It’s a highly personalized experience,” Brooke said. “One of the things that I really enjoy is when I’m able to sing directly, one-on-one to a child, and you can see their eyes light up.”
Bailey said meeting children one-on-one is her favorite part of performing.
“I really love how every interaction with the kids is different,” she said. “It’s really fun, especially when someone comes back all the time and you get to know them really well.”
Brooklyn Mounts brought her three-year-old son and his cousins to the event.
“They loved it,” she said. “It’s so great to have local things going on and not having to travel outside of Mansfield.”
