Mad Hatter Tea Party Raises a Wonderland of Funds for Panola College

 

 

 

Panola College Foundation recently held its second annual Gala fundraiser

at the Frances B. Ross Ballroom, on Saturday, February 27, 2016. The event

theme,titled the Mad Hatter Tea Party, was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s

book, *Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland*. The evening brought in $34,000,

which will be used towards student scholarships, faculty and staff grants,

and other special projects.

 

Guests attending the party entered Wonderland through an eight foot long

rabbit tunnel wearing their fanciest, silliest, and craziest hats and were

greeted by characters from the book played by the Panola College volleyball

team. The master of ceremony for the evening was Joshua Carter, and he led

the guests through the highlights of the evening.

 

Those highlights included fanciful hors d’oeuvres, jazz music played by

Swinghouse jazz band, and several different games for guests to enjoy

including a life size chess set that was placed in front of vintage

couches. Guests were also entertained by a caricature artist who drew

whimsical sketches of the attendees, which produced immediate souvenirs.

 

In addition to the caricature artist, guests could be found throughout the

evening in the mock casino engaging in games of blackjack, roulette, and

craps. Casino winnings could be traded in throughout the evening for raffle

tickets towards one of several prizes. Raffle tickets could also be

purchased outright to help towards the fundraising goal.

 

Throughout the evening Somer Page Photography, took numerous photos of the

event and guests to capture the memorable night. Guests also enjoyed a

silent auction of more than 40 items that held one-of-a-kind pieces, such

as a painting commissioned specially for this event by Vanicka Newell,

owner of Kings Antiques in Shreveport and 4 field box tickets to a Houston

Astros baseball game.

 

Sponsors of the event included the Premier sponsor - Corgan Inc., the Mad

Hatter sponsor - XTO Energy, the invitation sponsor – First State Bank, the

Wonderland sponsor – Hunt Construction, and the Alice sponsor – Lewis H.

Pool Foundation. Other sponsors included the Queen of Hearts sponsors –

Carthage Title Company, Farmers State Bank in Center, and Lewis H. Pool

Foundation. The Cheshire Cat sponsors included Hal’s AC & Electrical,

Brookshire Brothers, General Shelters, Tyson, Smith Equipment, Ace

Hardware, and the City of Carthage.