Botany Transformed Into Alice's Wonderland To Celebrate Children's Day 2010
Famed children’s-book characters came to life at Botany Town Centre on 6 and 7 March when Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts hosted a right royal tea party to celebrate the 10th anniversary of New Zealand Children’s Day 2010, in aid of Lloyd Elsmore Park charity Lifekidz.
In conjunction with Botany Town Centre retailers Prenzel and T2, the centre brought Alice’s Wonderland to life with everything from a tea-tasting competition to a Mad Hatter kids’ dress-up, a wacky tea-pot contest, Alice’s giant tea cups and much more.
The event raised $481.10 for the Lloyd Elsmore Park charity Lifekidz. The funds will go towards supporting the school holiday and afterschool care it provides to children with special needs.
New Zealand's Children's Day (Sunday 7 March 2010) is a national, non-commercial day to celebrate how special and important our children are.
Throughout the weekend at Botany Town Centre, kids were invited to don their best Mad Hatter costumes for the chance to win some wonderful spot prizes, including movie tickets to the new 3-D movie Alice in Wonderland, hitting the big screen this month.
For those with a wacky teapot gathering dust in the cupboard, the weekend was a chance to show it off to the world. People were invited to bring their craziest teapots, or design a complete original and enter in the wacky teapot competition.
To keep parents entertained, Prenzel and T2 held a special tasting competition in which people could test their tastebuds for the chance to win tea and other goodies. Those who spent $40 or more in a single transaction at T2 or Prenzel over the weekend went into the draw to win a hamper valued at $270.
To add to the fun, the Botany Craft Market was also running over the weekend with its regular stallholders.
Jennifer Andrews, Senior Centre Manager at Botany Town Centre, said: “National Children’s Day is a great occasion to celebrate and cherish Kiwi kids and help a great cause in the process! We wanted to celebrate the 10th anniversary in a way that was fun and engaging for children and their families, and hoped that the action-packed weekend offered something for everyone. Just like Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, Lifekidz offers children with special needs a whole range of adventures through their programmes.”
The charity supports and cares for children with special needs during the school holidays and after school, offering important respite care and assistance to parents. The fun activities Lifekidz offers are vast, and includes bikes and a bike track, swings, trampoline, skateboarding, a large covered sandpit, water play during summer months, sports activities, Lego, art and much more.
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About Botany Town Centre
Situated approximately 19km southeast of Auckland, Botany Town Centre is one of New Zealand’s largest retail developments, with 169 specialty stores. Its retailers range from Dick Smith Electronics to Rebel Sports and a full complement of banks, fashion stores, and New Zealand’s most popular café and restaurant chains. The centre includes one of Auckland’s largest Farmers stores and a New World supermarket. The centre provides diverse entertainment choices from the Circle Lounge at Berkeley Cinema to the award-winning Cock and Bull pub. In addition to its retail offering, Botany Town Centre is a community hub for other services including the Botany Library, the Community Constable, and a variety of medical and health providers