Tūhura Otago Museum hosted Alice in Wonderland after dark on Friday, September 13th, a fun (18+) event based on the Lewis Carroll book and that one Tim Burton film everyone chooses to ignore. Sporting free tickets and a craving for cotton candy, Critic Te Ārohi stumbled down the rabbit hole.
The event featured tea cup painting, a mixologist (boujee speak for bartender), croquet, a panther-themed inflatable slide, tarot card reading, and full access to the Tūhura Science Centre and butterfly museum! No one said it was a costume-party, so Critic looked embarrassingly out of place among the attendees dressed as characters from the book such as titular character Alice, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter.
The event even managed to get the real Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, and the White Rabbit to attend. We snagged each for a delightful yarn. First up was the Mad Hatter, who we pulled up next to while he was assisting people painting their own tea cups. He had some “tea” in his cup as well. “It is amazing! It is always tea time because it is always six o’clock because I killed time!” he mentions. Facts.
The Queen of Hearts kept telling the Hatter to die, apparently. “She doesn’t like me very much and of course I don’t like her because she usurped the White Queen,” he said emphatically. “Oh,” replied a nearby breatha, tipsy on rabbit-themed cocktails. Gesturing wildly, the Hatter continued, “I will dance ferociously and vivaciously and dramatically when the White Queen wears the crown once more.” The White Queen was apparently not available for comment because the Queen of Hearts was there, he told us with a frown. It was at this point that attendees began to suspect these people weren’t actually their characters.
In response to the Mad Hatter’s accusations, the Queen of Hearts said, “He murdered time and I want his head to be chopped off but he keeps running away from his duty of having his head removed.” Critic Te Ārohi asked if the Queen of Hearts was willing to give back the crown to which she replied, “Absolutely not!” After informing the Queen that the Mad Hatter felt she was killing the vibes, she charitably replied that she would not cut off our heads if we joined her.
Following the White Rabbit, Critic gauged their opinion on the matter to which they responded: “I stand with the Hatter. He gives me candy floss.” Given the Hatter was not on cotton candy duty, Critic can only assume we’d stumbled upon some kind of black market. The rabbit ran away and could not be reached for any further comment.
Many people down the rabbit hole enjoyed being there. Attendee Macy commented, “It’s super fun. I love the music. There was a butterfly on my forehead. My friends got told by the tarot card reader that they were lost in life and needed to trust their intuition.” Said music was an imaginative mix of DnB and whimsical ballads. Her friend Sam, dressed as the White Rabbit, said, “It’s been great. My girlfriend loves the slide.” She could not be reached for comment as she went on the slide again.