Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort is building a new weathervane in the spirit of Princess Tiana.
Handcrafted by one of Louisiana’s finest blacksmiths, Darryl Reeves, this new addition to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is designed to showcase her cultural importance and strength. Reeves will use a centuries-old technique while giving a nod to African heritage and New Orleans style. “I take metal and do anything I want with it,” he told
the Disney Parks Blog. “To have a free hand to design and fabricate the weathervane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure…that’s an honor.”Reeves has been a blacksmith for over five decades, creating some of New Orleans’ most well-known structures. Now, he and his apprentice, Karina Roca, are taking on a new project. What sets Tiana’s weathervane apart from other Disney attractions is its cultural spin, which Roca explained in a recent video at Disney Parks.
“The Adinkra symbols in it were very carefully chosen with such a level of love and intention,” she said. “The top symbol is a symbol of endurance. It looks like a fern because fern plants are very resilient. They can grow and thrive in any environment. The symbol below that, it was centered around the divinity of Mother Earth, and it’s a depiction of this old saying ‘as above, so below.’”
Through these different types of symbolism, both Reeves and Roca hope to pay homage to Louisiana’s rich culture and Tiana’s lasting impact. “To think of all of the people that will see this piece really means, for me, to amplify the sort of message and love of our ancestors that have given us these symbols through ironwork so long,” Roca said.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has brought out some of Louisiana’s greatest talents. In October 2023, artist Malaika Favorite was tapped to illustrate a new mural of the Disney Princess. The attraction is scheduled to be unveiled in September this year.
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