On a toasty afternoon on the first of June, the Tuacahn Amphitheatre was a glittery sea of satin, tulle and rhinestones. Though such finery is typically the performers’ purview, this time it was the audience who came dressed to thrill, heeding the call for the “Tuacahn Tiara Takeover.” In the process, they set a new Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people dressed as princesses.”
It started with a one-line email.
Back in February, Tuacahn Development Specialist, Eliza Johansen—herself a member of the 2023 Guinness World Record-setting “fastest team to run 100 miles”—had been pondering ways to forge closer connections with the local community. Though Tuacahn’s productions typically draw thousands of out-of-towners to the area annually, Eliza sought a special event for Washington County residents. Given that this year’s performance season includes two musicals—“Frozen” and “Anastasia”—featuring iconic princesses, Eliza logged onto the Guinness site and did a search for any princess-related records that might be broken.
“Then I sent an email to my team, and said ‘what if we tried to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as princesses?’” Eliza said. “From that one line this massive thing happened, with over 2,500 people registered.”
Not surprisingly, setting—and certifying—a Guinness World Record is no small feat. Along with his staff, Darrin Winn, Tuacahn’s development senior manager, spent months filling out paperwork, providing the necessary proof that the amphitheatre was a suitable locale for the princess gathering, conferring with Guinness World Records Official Adjudicator, Susana Reyes (who traveled from Mexico City to verify the count), and most importantly, training the more than 40 volunteers who would actually count the princesses.
Says Darrin, “Anytime you’re counting more than 1,000 people, you’re required to have two ways to verify the final number. We did our count electronically, via the number of princesses who showed up with tickets, and then our volunteers physically counted all of them in their seats.”
Would-be princesses were instructed to stand for 60 seconds, tiaras firmly in place, while the count was underway. After the tally-sheets were forwarded to Susana and two witnesses, the ecstatic crowd learned that they had smashed the prior Guinness World Record of 419 people in tiaras and gowns.
“I can confirm that with a record of 1,382 people dressed as princesses, you are now officially amazing!” Susana announced to raucous applause.
Tuacahn has now earned the right to use the Guinness World Records logo as a part of its corporate identity. But to Darrin, the biggest success of the event was the joy that his venue brought to every princess in attendance—including his wife and four daughters.
“What we wanted to do was to let little girls come and be princesses for a day,” he noted. “They got to be a part of the magic of Tuacahn, but in a more personal way than just coming to a show.”
View a documentary about Tuacahn’s Tiara Takeover at youtube.com/watch?v=zFs0N1llU2A.
Marianne Hamilton is a veteran journalist and marketing writer whose work appears in regional and national publications.