By: Bonnie Tulloch, Kristy Woodcock and Kathryn Shoemaker
October has already seen its share of amusing events, among them “A Golden Afternoon: An LLED Alumni Mad Hatter’s Tea in support of B.C. School Libraries,” which took place on October 17th at the Sage Bistro on UBC’s Vancouver campus. Sponsored by the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable, the UBC Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED), UBC Faculty of Education, UBC Library, Books for Kids, and the BC Coalition for School Libraries, this Wonderland themed celebration was held in honor of the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with the added purpose of raising support and awareness for BC school libraries. The event, which was organized by MACL alumni/professor Dr. Kathryn Shoemaker, along with MACL candidates Kristy Woodcock and Bonnie Tulloch, consisted of a costumed high tea and silent auction featuring items provided by generous local donors. The proceeds of the auction, which amounted to 1500 dollars, will be given to a BC school library that could use the financial assistance.
Event highlights include LLED and MACL professor Dr. Margot Filipenko as the emcee and Queen of Hearts, as well as a presentation on the history of Alice by Kristy Woodcock, and poetry readings by LLED professors Dr. Carl Leggo as the March Hare, and Dr. Kedrick James as the Mad Hatter. The costumes of those in attendance were extremely impressive as were the Wonderland inspired decorations. After the event, some attendees explored the Alice exhibit at Rare Books and Special Collections while others participated in a game of flamingo and miniature croquet in the Dodson Room. Thanks to all of those who helped make the day a huge success!
See some of the amazing Wonderland inspired attendees below!
