The Alice: An Immersive Cocktail Experience | New Orleans

It has always been my wish and desire, to attend The Alice: An Immersive Cocktail Experience. It’s a traveling, immersive event experience, that has been showcased in Australia, England, Canada, and major cities throughout the United States. You may be asking yourself, what is an immersive event experience? An immersive experience pulls someone into another real or imagined world, enabling them to manipulate and interact with their environment. In the case of this event, the imaginary world is Alice In Wonderland. Immersive event experiences are the newest and hottest things to do.

Curiouser and Curiouser. Would this magical tea party, find its way to New Orleans? Yes. I received a media invite to attend this immersive theatrical event at The Burgundy House (Barrilleaux’s Restaurant & Wine Bar). I promptly replied and immediately started brainstorming what to wear. A tea party!?! Alice in Wonderland!?! Mocktails (family-friendly event). Cocktails (special day and night events). I need a dress. Another cute one, despite the ones hanging in my closet.

Wait for the Mad Hatter. A most colorful & artistically drawn sign perched outside the venue read, “Have your tickets ready and wait for the Mad Hatter”. Our family-friendly group was greeted by the most charming & sweetest Mad Hatter. Her outfit was gorgeous! I’ve never thought about being the Mad Hatter character from Alice in Wonderland for Halloween, but her outfit gave me inspiration. She greeted us enthusiastically and hosted a most entertaining tea party.

Sweet displays and thoughts. Upon entering the venue, there were two beautifully decorated displays, that captured my attention. One, was filled with an assortment of clocks. Looking at those clocks, made me think about two things. One, a time’s past, when I cherished mimicking the White Rabbit’s famous line, “I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date. No time to say, hello … goodbye! I’m late. I’m late. I’m late”. Secondly, how fast time moves nowadays. Things are very fast-paced nowadays. As a society, we’re doing a lot of things … but are we enjoying them? I try to take my time and enjoy things. Appreciate them. I encourage you to do the same.

The second display case was filled with one of my favorite things. Faux sweets. They were so beautifully displayed. Delectable slices of cake, petit fours, iced cookies and (of course) tarts looked deliciously back at me. This set-up gave me decorating inspiration. I think for some holidays, I will put together a small display of sweets. It’s most fanciful.

Whooo are you? I immediately thought about the Caterpillar character & his smoking hookah pipe, when I saw these mushrooms. He was always deep in thought, like a philosopher. I hated Philosophy in college, but I did think one thing! Don’t you think those mushrooms, would make cute umbrellas? I have a macaroon umbrella, but I need a mushroom one. Books, tiny porcelain bunnies and lush greenery made you feel as if you had fallen down the rabbit hole.

White Roses. The table at which I was seated, had the same mushroom theme. Loved the white roses bistro table and matching chairs. I thought they were adorable. Each table was given a teapot(s), cups & saucers and painting brushes.

A Warm Welcome from the White Rabbit & Creamsicle Mocktails w/ Whipped Cream. Since this was a family-friendly session, we delighted in mocktails. The creamsicle with a whipped cream topping was most delightful. I loved the White Rabbit. He was so sweet. Isn’t his mask gorgeous!?!

Time to meet the Cheshire Cat. He’s still MAD as ever you guys. He said, “I’m Mad. You’re Mad. We’re All Mad. You have to be, or else you wouldn’t be here.” Oh Mr. Cat. I prefer the word unique. The most gifted people are unique. We stand out. That’s what makes us different. Some understand us. Others do not. That’s what makes us special. Exceptional.

Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” Alice: “I don’t much care where.” The Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.” I love that dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat. It’s so true. Sometimes in life, we don’t know which way to go. When uncertain, always keep moving forward. Don’t look back.

Tea Time. After solving puzzles and riddles, it was time to sit down and make some tea. You needed THREE bottles. A bottle of blue. A bottle of green. And a vial of DRINK ME liquid, “but not too vile”. You also needed a teapot. Make sure its friendly! Mix & stir them all together and MAGIC HAPPENS! You’ll have to watch my video to see the full effect.

DRINK ME. EAT ME. Really cute “EAT ME” iced cookies were passed around, for all to enjoy. No one got larger or smaller. Thank God! Why am I smiling like the Cheshire Cat? Storybook characters asked, if you were good or bad. My response to the White Rabbit was, VERY BAD. But remember! In Wonderland, bad means GOOD and good means BAD.

Red Dress & Shoes (but not The Queen of Hearts). When deciding what to wear, I found this cute red linen dress on Boden’s website. It’s such a sweet “tea” length dress. Perfect for the event and hot Summer month. I’m definitely the Alice character (she wore blue), but I look better in red. I almost got rid of these shoes awhile back, but decided to keep them. I’m so glad I did, because they matched the dress perfectly (and overall theme of the event). Speaking of the Queen of Hearts, don’t you think she was a cantankerous woman? Let me stop before she says, OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!

We’re Painting the Roses … Ahem … Potions, RED! I use to love singing that song. Do you remember it? The deck of cards singing, “We’re painting the roses red.” I’ve attached the YouTube snippet below. It was such a fun & lively song. Well, during the tea, The Queen of Hearts decided we would paint potions instead of roses. I ended up putting together a LOVE potion. You’ll have to watch my video, to see how it initially started. HaHaHa Art was never my forte!

Picture perfect backdrop. Whoever put this backdrop together for pictures, did an absolutely amazing job. It is so pretty. It was decorated with gorgeous, oversized fluffy red, pink and white roses. A pink neon, Alice sign. There was a white bench, with pink heart-shaped and round green pillows. Ivy was draped atop the canopy. All of it reminded me of a charming, outdoor garden setting. I wanted to pack it up and bring it home with me. It was all so beautiful.

Heart Strings. Do you know one of the things that pulls on my heart strings? Chandeliers. Anyone that follows this blog, knows I have a penchant for chandeliers. It really doesn’t matter how fancy or plain they are; I’m always drawn to how they are designed. One thing, that has never crossed my mind, is decorating a chandelier. Isn’t it cool how this one is decorated? Beautiful heart garland and ivy was draped throughout this lighting piece. I found it quite fanciful.

Cheers And Thank You! I would like to make a toast to the amazing actors in this production! Most played several characters throughout The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. They were entertaining, funny, knowledgeable about the Alice In Wonderland story and most of all kind. They made everyone, feel welcome. You truly felt a part of it all. They did all of this, while working in a very intimate space. I applaud and thank them all sincerely. This production runs from July 14 – September 18, 2022. Tickets are still available. What’s really cool, is that no session is the same (you may get different actors) and The Alice is different in every city. I encourage you to experience it, when it comes to your city. Don’t be late!