Head down the rabbit hole this weekend with the second of a series of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland-inspired events at the Kimball Jenkins Estate.
On Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m., the gallery and art school will host the second of four Alice teas.
Children and their parents can enjoy storytelling, dress-up, a Wonderland-themed art exhibit and create their own art.
Rachel Young, the estate’s business manager and event planner for school events, was inspired by tea parties she’d had with her grandmother.
“As a child this was my favorite story and my grandmother and I would frequently have Alice in Wonderland tea parties,” Young said. “Due to the fond memories, I wanted children to be able to have similar experiences and enjoy spending time with their families at the School of Art.”
Even more fitting, the Kimball Jenkins mansion is built in the Victorian style, just like the style of house author Lewis Carroll might have lived in.
Inspired by Carroll’s sequel, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, Sylvia Brofos, a watercolor instructor for the school, created two paintings for the exhibit, featuring Alice crawling through the mirror and the slaying of the fearsome Jabberwocky. She has also created a series of 23 ink drawings inspired by Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations from both books, which appeared in the 1860s release of Carroll’s books.
The Kimball Jenkins mansion is so similar to the illustrations, Brofos used the mansion’s fireplace as a model of the mantle Alice crawls through.
Scaled down copies of Brofos’s illustrations will be available for children to color at the teas.
Rooms in the Kimball Jenkins mansion have been organized by the chapters in the book, Young said, starting with Alice’s long fall down the rabbit hole. Painted on a mirror, you might spy a Cheshire cat smile drawn by Eleanor Poirier.
Another room is set up with a sewing machine tableau as if the Mad Hatter was working there. In another room, playing cards dash off above the fireplace, while a red and white rose bush, made by volunteer Nancy Young, sits in a corner.
Below the staircase, Rachel Young made a tile installation mimicking a checkerboard pattern with a glass table next to it with small key on top, to represent Alice’s situation where she shrinks very small.
In the blue room, Brofos’s Jabberwocky painting hangs above the fireplace and other illustrations from Through the Looking Glass are hung on the walls.
Young hopes that children who are unfamiliar with the story will have a chance to learn more about the stories.
To pique their interest, Janice Metzger will begin the event by reading the first chapter of the book. Young will also display snippets from the book as captions to the art.
The cost for the teas is $10. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Other teas will be held March 19 and May 14.
Next month, adults can participate in the fun with a Jabberwocky poetry event and Brofos’s art.
Concord poet Rob Fried will read the “Jabberwocky” poem from Carroll’s sequel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. There will be a poetry contest, cash bar with Area 23, and an opportunity to view the Wonderland art exhibit.
For the poetry contest, entries must be original compositions recited live by the author in fewer than 3 minutes. They should be inspired by or make a reference to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Poets may enter up to two poems and should reserve a slot by emailing eleanor@kimballjenkins.com.
The event will be March 11 at 7 p.m. at the Kimball Jenkins Estate.
(Sarah Kinney can be reached at skinney@cmonitor.com or at 369-3324.)