A verry merry anniversary to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”!
On June 4 1862, Charles Dodgson told the first version of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to Alice and her sisters during a boat trip.
Exactly 3 years later, the book we now all love was printed.
The Lewis Carroll Society of North America is organising a debate about which book is better: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, or “Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there”.
Four Carrollians will take sides and amicably argue about which of the two ‘Alice’ books is the more scholastically significant, culturally compelling, engrossingly eloquent, all-around better book.
You can attend the discussion via Zoom. Attendees can submit debate questions and also vote for their favorite at the beginning and end of the debate.
Date: 24 July 2021
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM Pacific
Zoomlink: posted 1 or 2 days before the event
More info: https://www.lewiscarroll.org/event/the-great-debate-wonderland-vs-looking-glass/
The annual Alice’s Day in Oxford will be celebrated on 3 July. This year it will have both a physical and virtual component, so everyone can join.
There will be a giant Alice in puppet form wandering the streets of Oxford, as well as other Wonderland and Looking-Glass characters. Many venues will contribute to the festival with their own programme, which includes storytelling, a history walk, theatre, and more. Besides the local activities, there will be several digital talks (both live and pre-recorded) and activities that you can watch or do from home. You can view the full program on the website of the Story Museum.
Date: 3 July 2021
Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
More information: https://www.storymuseum.org.uk/about-us/alices-day-1
On 18 July there will a day of chess activities in London, drawing on the chess theme of Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass”.
There will be free chess lessons, chess tables to play with each other, a speed chess challenge, a blindfold chess exhibition, and more. Notable there will be a human chess game based around “Through the Looking-Glass”, performed by professional actors. Children are encouraged to dress up as characters from “Through the Looking-Glass” – but I say: if you’re an adult, go for it as well! 🙂
Date: 18 July 2021 (The festival is actually from 16 to 18 July, but the first two days of activities are not open to the public.)
Time: 11.00 – 18.00
Location: Trafalgar Square, London, UK
More information: https://www.chess-fest.com/trafalgar-square
On June 28, Francesca Arnavas will present her new book, “Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’ and Cognitive Narratology: Author, Reader and Characters”.
Her book proposes a dialogue between the ‘Alice’ books, and a cognitive narratological approach to literary texts. Both ‘Alice’ books are analysed through new theoretical lenses, using concepts taken from the cognitive sciences to explore the minds of the author, the readers and the characters.
This Wonderland festival in Sydney, Australia, celebrates our reconnection after Covid-19! Dress up, get creative, and dance this October.
This one-day festival includes 2 themed stages with live music and DJ’s, and performers along with stand up comedy, talks, a scavenger hunt and a theatrical Rabbit Hole experience. More importantly, there is a giant Mad Hatter’s tea party and they are aiming for a Guinness World Record to co-create ‘world’s largest Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’! So dress up as an Alice in Wonderland character, bring your tea party essentials to set your own part of the table, and join in! There will be a prize for the most outrageous tea party setting.
The festival is alcohol- and drugs-free, inclusive, and for all-ages.
Date: 9 October 2021
Place: Belmore Park, Sydney, Australia
More information and tickets: https://www.xstaticsunsets.com/xstaticwonderland
An exhibition in Nagano, Japan, revolves around Carroll’s sequel: Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there.
The exhibition focuses on the differences between “Through the Looking-Glass” and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, as well as the Mother Goose rhymes and nonsense poetry in the story. It highlights the charm of ‘nonsense’ in the history of English picture books, and features original illustrations from John Tenniel, as well as illustrations from modern and contemporary artists.