As most of you will know, we have just celebrated our 15th Birthday! And as a way to celebrate this, we paired up with 'Akarua Wines & Kitchen by Artisan' to not only thank all of our wonderful clients but also celebrate Akarua’s newest wine release - ‘25 Steps’!
The ‘Mad as a Hatter’ Art Exhibition & Theatrical Immersion was themed from the classic magical movie, Alice in Wonderland.
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Article from the Queenstown Lakes Weekly Bulletin
Issue 730 Page 23:
‘Alice in Wonderland’ Review by Who the funk is Alice?
I slipped in through the side gate at Akarua Wines and Kitchen by Artisan and was immediately accosted by Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee. They told me they were bouncers (queue some belly-bouncing) and shook my hand for four minutes, shouting nonsense all the while, before telling me I had to enter down the rabbit hole.
At the entrance to the rabbit hole, I was handed a small bottle labelled ‘drink me’, in it was Akarua’s fresh and floral rose from its 25 Steps vineyard. Once down the rabbit hole, I was measured for a hat by the mad hatter and the Queen of Hearts kindly offered to behead my companion. A fairy was creating giant bubbles and a pianist was accompanied by an ad-hoc operatic singer (Margaret O’Hanlon in a fantastic wig). Guests nibbled at ‘eat me’ treats from the Mad Hatter’s tea party spread.
This was the launch of Akarua’s 25 Steps Pinot Noir and Artbay Gallery’s 15th birthday party. Some of New Zealand’s most creative artists had painted artworks especially for the event; Jasmine Middlebrook’s wide-brushed depiction of Alice with a white rabbit was a surprising but beautiful departure from the artist’s usual style. Ilya Volykhine’s Mad Hatter’s Party was another stand-out piece, with a Cheshire cat who looked like he’d got the cream, all painted on top of handwritten letters from the artist’s mother. Then there was Michelle Clarke’s giant hare sculpture, which looked great in Akarua’s garden setting.
Ta-Dah did the fantastic event styling and there was a brilliant collaboration between Flame Entertainment, local actors like Blaise Barham and a number of others who were too hard to recognise under the elaborate face-paint and costumes (I’m told this was Charlotte Graf’s magic).
Why can’t all product launches be this crazy?
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