Mad Hatters Tea Party

“[people], when [they] cease to sleep, are above all the plaything of [their] memory.”

So let’s play and make memories! It is a strange and relentless

time we are living through and sometimes it feels too painful to stay

open to it all. But the only way I know how to keep going is to stay

open to it all.

Lately I've been feeling like my days are continuous; without the

break of sleep. Like the impacts are too real to forget what has come

before. Before this time, I tried so hard to break my patterns through

obsession. Which is seemingly always the way

I go. To go so deep into something that I can find my way out again. I

don’t know how to turn back without going further. There is always some

limit I must reach, some amount of discomfort I must feel to know that

yes, I am still alive.

I think, then I realise I should be playing. When I interact with

kids, I realise how important it is to imagine different realities. If

we can imagine that there is a dragon atop a spire that is breathing

fire, while its tail is putting it out, then we

can imagine that our life is precious, and that those we sit across

from have their own precious life. We can imagine that they know

different things and can imagine different things, and we can share in

awe.

I love community, imagination and play, and I’d love to soak up all

these joys with others. It feeds me to fall into community, to be

vulnerable enough to show up with what pains I have or awkwardness I

feel. It is cathartic and relieving to know I can

let go and dance and express my love to others.

This event is an expression of serious fun and an attempt to come

together through chaos. It is intent on sharing and letting go of

pre-conceptions. The event will be taking place on unceded Kaurna Land,

right by Karrawirra Pari. Please come with respect

for this land and its people. We acknowledge and show gratitude for our

ability to meet, create and celebrate on a land that has provided space

for meeting, creation and celebration for 60,000 years and beyond.

I am excited to share a creative space with you all! We will warm

our bodies with tea and dance (and aerial silks), and soak up the

expressions of visual artists, bands and our own hands. Let’s craft, be

silly and revel in strangeness (pure imagination).

There will be a hatting (hat making) station upon entry (with

guidance), so feel free to bring any supplies you feel might help. There

will also be a Tea Party at 6pm, so bring a small plate for sharing if

possible.

visual art by Claude Creighton and Chelsea Farquhar
2pm: hat crafting, Madeleine (DJ)
3: hat crafting, Rainey
4: Aerial Silks workshop
5: Research Project (DJ)
6: Tea Party
7: post-dinner conga line into band room. War Room (2 piece)
8: Stripes (Solo)
9: bed time