Lewis Carroll Holds Sway In Tech Dining Facility

If you’re an “Alice in Wonderland” fan, Virginia Tech's D2 dining facility was the place to be Thursday.

D2 hosted Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a promotional customer appreciation dinner with an Alice twist.

At 4:30 p.m., the doors opened and hungry patrons began filing in. By 5:00, the dining hall was packed and lines curled around D2.

“We had right at about 1,600 people,” said unit manager of Dietrick Dining Center, Kelvin Bergsten.

The inspiration was unmistakable even before entering D2. Outside of the building’s entrance were two games, the Teacup Toss and The Queen’s Croquet Ground. The Teacup Toss required players to toss a pink ball into a teacup, and the croquet game came complete with flamingo-shaped putters and folded playing card obstacles.

Once inside, guests were treated with visual delights to rival that of Tim Burton and Disney’s recent film adaptation. The stairway, decorated as the tunnel leading to Wonderland, had tree roots and copies of Lewis Carroll’s original works hanging from it’s interior. Playing cards garnished windows and tabletops, the Cheshire cat lurked from cardboard treetops, and white flowers, painted red, completed the scenery.

“The scenery is amazing,” said one patron. “It feels just like the original movie here.”

If the decorations weren’t enough to create an “Alice” mood, the Mad Hatter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and even Alice herself strolled the floor, greeting guests along the way.

The real focus of the evening was the traditional Victorian food. A steamship round with Madeira wine sauce was served by attendants dressed as playing cards. The White Rabbit and Mock Turtle doled out bowls of his-time-was-up rabbit stew and mock turtle soup. Servers dressed in tall, zany hats supplied the deserts, including carrot cake cupcakes, playing card cookies and flower box pudding.

Perhaps the most attention-grabbing items of the night were the two roasted pigs, both raised and processed by Virginia Tech. “The pig is easily the best thing here,” said one customer. “It’s delicious.”

“We got a lot of real positive comment cards,” said Bergsten, who considered the event a big success.