Your Guide to Celebrating Soulfully at Disney World for Black History Month
February is Black History Month, and Disney World is honoring the occasion with their Celebrate Soulfully festivities! There will be all kinds of special food, decorations, and more for you to check out.
We already know some of the details of the celebration, but Disney just shared a LOT more — let’s take a look!
How to Celebrate Soulfully during Black History Month at Disney World
Michael James Scott as Honorary Parade Grand Marshal
Broadway star Michael James Scott will be the honorary grand marshal for the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade at Magic Kingdom on February 6th! The performer is most known for his portrayal of Genie in Broadway’s Aladdin.
Michael James Scott will be the honorary grand marshal during the 3PM performance of the parade. This will kick off the month-long celebrations for Black History Month at Disney World!
Disney Springs Art Walk
Over at Disney Springs, you can take a look at some colorful artwork from Black artists at the Disney Springs Art Walk. There will be murals painted by Black artists like Ernest Shaw, Nneka Jones, and Nardstar.
Cooking with Soul Cuisine
There is a TON of special food coming to Disney World for the celebration! The Cooking with Soul items will be classic comfort foods created by a diverse group of Disney World chefs.
You can take a look at the full list of items that will be available, as well as more about the chefs who created them, right here.
New Princess Tiana Pin
There is a new Princess Tiana tiara pin now available at Disney World (and will also soon be on shopDisney!). This is a limited-release pin designed by Brittany L. Smith, who is a senior production designer with Walt Disney Imagineering.
The pin was inspired by Brittany’s interpretation of the tiara-topped water tower at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. She is also a designer for Tiana’s Audio-Animatronics character the upcoming ride (which will be open later this year in Disney World).
Black Artists at EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts
There are artistic designs from three Black artists participating in the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Arts! You can check out the following artists at the festival:
- Ryan Riller (Feb. 12th-19th)
- Yesenia Moises (Feb.13th-19th)
- Larissa Marantz (Feb. 14th-19th)
There will also be some performances from Black artists during the Disney on Broadway Concert Series at the festival! Check out the following at the America Gardens Theatre:
- L. Steven Taylor (The Lion King – Jan. 26th, 28th, & 29th, Feb. 1st, 3rd, 5th, & 6th)
- Kissy Simmons (The Lion King – Jan. 27th, 30th, & 31st, Feb. 2nd, 4th, 7th, & 8th)
- Bradley Gibson (The Lion King – Feb. 10th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, & 19th)
- Michael James Scott (Aladdin – Feb. 9th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, & 19th)
African Art Exhibit at Animal Kingdom
There will be a new African art installation in Animal Kingdom beginning February 1st. It will feature artwork from internationally renowned Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk.
The art installation will explore historical narratives and contemporary African diaspora. You will be able to find it over at the Pizzafari gate in the park.
Be Inspired by Disney’s First Black Animator — Floyd Norman
Floyd Norman is Disney’s first credited Black animator and helped animate characters like Kaa and Shere Khan from The Jungle Book. Over at Conservation Station’s Animation Experience in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you can learn how to illustrate some of the characters Norman helped to animate!
He worked on popular Disney Animation and Pixar Animation Studios characters, so it should be very exciting to get step-by-step guidance on how to draw them.
Meet Tiana, Ariel, & Asha
Disney is also reminding guests that you can meet a lot of diverse characters during Black History Month (and beyond), like Tiana at Magic Kingdom, Ariel from the live-action story at Hollywood Studios, and Asha from Wish at EPCOT.
Stay tuned for more Disney World news and updates!