We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Baylee Miller (left) as the Mad Hatter and Audrey Sipler, as Alice, pose before "Tea with Alice" at the Harlem Library. The two characters from "Alice in Wonderland" greeted, then danced for the 50 guests who came for the Friends of the Library's fundraiser.
A large number of children came to the Harlem Library's Tea with Alice. Here some of the young guests, in costume, greet Alice and the Mad Hatter. After tea, Alice and the Mad Hatter danced for the guests.
About fifty adults and children gathered at the Harlem Library for tea with Alice (of 'in Wonderland' fame) and the Mad Hatter. The formal tea was one of two fundraisers hosted annually by the Harlem Friends of the Library. Libby Kuntz, who emceed the event, said, "We decided to host a tea. Then a friend told that her granddaughter and a friend recently were in a dance recital and had costumes ready to go. The Friends decided to invite Alice and the Mad Hatter."
The library meeting room and reception area were decorated with the Alice in Wonderland theme-tea pots on the tables, quotes from Lewis Carroll's stories and poetry at each place setting and old English goodies to eat, including the famous cucumber sandwich. The event was billed as "kid-friendly" and a good number of children showed up, some in costume with fancy hats.
For the children, being greeted by Alice and the Mad Hatter was, well, for some a dream come true. Nine-year old Kishay Obey, said, "I really liked the movie. When I saw a poster, at breakfast about Alice and the Mad Hatter being
here, I wanted to come." Kishay later got her picture taken with the two famous characters, as did all the other children and most of the adults.
Alice, the Mad Hatter and poetry by Lewis Carroll
Alice, in real life is Audry Sipler, a 14-year old dance student from Big Sandy. The Mad Hatter was played by Baylee Miller, 16 years old, and from Havre. Both are dance students at the Studio of Dance and Art in Havre. Baylee said, "We did a dance recital, really our own original production of Alice in Wonderland, with about 30 performers. That's why we have the costumes."
After tea was served and guests had a chance to sample some cucumber sandwiches and 'lady bug crackers,' Dale Maitland did a presentation about Lewis Carroll, an English preacher turned poet and story teller, who wrote the stories about Alice (Alice was a preacher's daughter in his stories). Maitland explained that when Carroll was writing in Victorian England, a story had to have a moral. Carroll seemed to enjoy telling stories, with a moral, but in a less 'preachy' fashion.
Maitland, himself a cowboy poet and former English teacher, got into the background of Carroll. Carroll changed his name from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, stating his real name was "too hard to pronounce." Maitland gave some history about Carroll, then read a poem and the parody Carroll wrote a hundred years later based on the first poem. Carroll had a very quick but subtle wit in his poetry and writing. Maitland used an English accent to tell Carroll's story and read the poetry. Later he said, "I hope there were no real Englishmen here to hear my accent."
After the reading, Alice and the Mad Hatter danced. It was great and the kids were spellbound by being so close to the imaginary characters. Then it is was photo time with the poet, Alice and the Mad Hatter.
Libby Kuntz said, after the event, "This is the first time the Friends of the Library have hosted a kid-friendly event. I think it went very well and we had a great turnout, with lots or children." There were a number of 'out of towners' visiting in the Harlem area, who came with grandmothers or great grandmothers to the tea. Thanks Friends of the Library for a fun evening...and for the cucumber sandwiches.
