By Janice Robinson-Celeste

When Jenifer Lewis walked into Tiana’s Joyful Celebration, she didn’t just tour an exhibit — she brought a little of her own “special spice” to it.

On June 5, 2026, the iconic actress, singer, and entertainer, Jenifer Lewis, made her first visit to Tiana’s Joyful Celebration, the first-ever museum exhibit centered on Disney’s beloved Princess Tiana, now open at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. As the unmistakable voice of Mama Odie in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009), Lewis holds a special place in the world the exhibit celebrates, and inside its bright, music-filled galleries, she stepped right back into that role, reprising Mama Odie in the interactive experience.

Produced by Walt Disney Imagineering and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the exhibit transports visitors to 1928 New Orleans, where Tiana welcomes them into her office at Tiana’s Foods. Her “krewe,” the New Orleans term for a Mardi Gras parade group, is racing to prepare for the Mardi Gras season, and they need a hand. Families decorate floats, design costumes and masks, help the band rehearse, cook up gumbo, and learn a dance, moving through hands-on areas devoted to art, music, dance, and food.

True to form, Lewis didn’t simply pose for pictures. She joyfully sang, danced, and chatted with the families who happened to be visiting that day, turning an ordinary afternoon into something they will remember for years. For children who grew up watching Tiana, meeting the woman behind one of the story’s most memorable characters was the kind of surprise that doesn’t come around twice.

Why This Visit Matters

Representation in children’s spaces is never a small thing. The Princess and the Frog introduced Disney’s first Black princess, and Tiana arrived with a story rooted in hard work, ambition, and the rich, vibrant traditions of New Orleans community and culture. A museum exhibit built entirely around her takes that legacy off the screen and into a hands-on, walk-through space where children can step inside the story themselves.

Lewis’s presence deepened that significance. Beyond Mama Odie, she has spent decades as a fixture of Black film and television — earning the title “Mother of Black Hollywood” through roles in Black-ish, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sister Act, and Beaches, among many others. She has also reprised Mama Odie for the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions at Disney World and Disneyland. When a child sees an artist with that history dancing and laughing alongside them, the message is unmistakable: these stories, and the people who tell them, belong here.

A Legacy That Resonates with Black Families

For many Black families, Tiana represents more than a fairy tale. She reflects culture, resilience, and the kind of dreams parents work hard to pass on to their children. An exhibit that centers her invites Black children to see themselves as the heroes of the story , and not just as background characters, but the princess at the heart of the celebration. That visibility shapes how children imagine their own futures.

The exhibit leans into that warmth. Bilingual signage in English and Spanish, hands-on stations where kids decorate floats, cook up gumbo, and invent new flavors, and characters who speak directly to young visitors all work together to make every family feel welcomed and seen. It is a celebration designed to be shared across generations.

That intergenerational spark is exactly what makes a moment like this resonate. A grandmother who remembers the film’s debut, a parent who grew up on it, and a child experiencing it for the first time can all stand in the same room and find something that speaks to them. Lewis, moving easily between them all, embodied that bridge.

Coming to a City Near You

The Indianapolis debut is only the beginning. After its run at The Children’s Museum, Tiana’s Joyful Celebration sets off on a five-year national tour, carrying Tiana’s story, and the joy Jenifer Lewis brought to its opening chapter, to families across the country. Following Indianapolis, the exhibit heads to Los Angeles (February 2027), then continues to Everett, WA; Dearborn, MI; Atlanta, GA; Fort Worth, TX; Tampa, FL, and more cities nationwide.

Images courtesy of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.