Mad Hatter party: It’s all on your head at museum gala

HARLINGEN — It will be through the looking glass Thursday at the “Mad Hatter’s Museum Party” at the city’s arts and history museum.

The Taste of Harlingen fundraiser is the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum’s biggest such event of the year, with the theme this year ripped from the fictional pages of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel “Alice in Wonderland.”

Costumes in the “Alice” vein are acceptable, although not a requirement.

Hats — absolutely mad hats — are encouraged, and some will be provided.

“We’re going to have a lot of hats out on the table that are pretty weird-looking,” museum board member Wanda Greenhill said yesterday.

“We’re hoping that at least people wear crazy hats,” said fellow museum board member Sue DeBrooke.

The Taste of Harlingen event will feature the offerings of about 17 restaurants in the city which will be putting their best food forward. Tickets for the 6 to 9 p.m. event are $75, or $85 at the museum door at 2425 Boxwood St.

Attendees will sample offerings from each participating restaurant in the museum’s courtyard, all the while listening to live music by the Pelican West band. Dancing is encouraged and a silent auction also will be held.

“We’re expecting a good crowd, and of course we’re praying the rain doesn’t come in the afternoon,” Greenhill added.

The Mad Hatter, in case your Carroll is a little rusty, tells Alice that he and the March Hare are always having tea because when he tried to sing for the Queen of Hearts she sentenced him to death for “murdering the time.”

He survived, but the catch is, he and the March Hare are stuck at a 6 p.m. tea-time forever.

“The bottom line on this is we have a lot of fantastic sponsors, and all the money made from this event is to promote the museum, do exhibits and repair things that need to be repaired,” Greenhill added.