FANTASY unfolded in Oxford today as families marked the city's 'special' connection to Alice in Wonderland.

The much-loved tale was brought to life for Alice's Day, which celebrates Lewis Carroll's legacy of children's literature. 

Each year the Story Museum organises an array of Alice-inspired activities, to remind residents that the nonsensical tale was dreamt up during boating picnic in Oxford.

The Pembroke Street museum's head of marketing, Sophie Hiscock, said: "Alice is a crucial part of Oxford's story heritage. Alice's Day has grown exponentially year on year.

"We've had so many international visitors today; from places like Costa Rica and Australia. It's a mixture of people who've come especially and some who've fortuitously wandered into it.

"The amazing thing about Alice is that it changed children's literature forever. Oxford is a particularly special place for Alice."

The museum was decorated with a canopy of playing cards, huge murals of Alice in Wonderland characters and a mouth-watering spread to rival the Mad Hatter's.

Oxford Mail:

Oxford Mail:

At 11.30pm Alice and a pack of human playing cards marched out from the museum into the city centre, where they made several stops in the middle of the street.

The Creation Theatre performance saw the cards rearrange themselves to commands of 'twist', 'snap' and 'shuffle', and they even displayed some impressive acrobatics upon their return to the museum.

Top hats and white rabbit ears could be spotted among the sea of shoppers in the city centre, as children and adults dressed for the occasion.

Among them was Molly Hartridge, six, who wore a blue dress and black hair bow just like Alice.

The Thame schoolgirl, who goes to John Hampden Primary School, said: "I like the theme - Alice is my favourite character to dress up as. My favourite bit of the story is the tea party."

Oxford Mail:

Molly Hartridge at the Story Museum

Her mum Caroline Jones, who is executive director of The Story Museum, said: "It's lovely to see it so busy. We are hoping families will come back to see some of the exhibitions we have here."

Customers at Blackwell's Bookshop in Broad Street were also treated to sneak-peek of Creation Theatre's summer production of Alice in Wonderland.

This year marked the 10th Alice's Day, and Alice-themed activities also took place at the Botanic Gardens, Ashmolean Museum, Christ Church and the Museum of Oxford. 

Whittard tea and coffee shop in High Street also marked the event, with staff dressing up to promote their range of Alice in Wonderland goodies.

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Staff at Whittard in Oxford for Alice's Day. L-R Brenda Fellman, Richard Churchill and manager Sarah Dancer

Embracing their namesake were staff at Alice's Shop in St Aldates, where the 'real' Alice (Alice Liddell, who inspired the story) used to buy sweets in Victorian times.

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Staff at Alice's Shop including Luke Gander (far right) 

Shop manager Luke Gander said: "Oxford is rather special because for the last 800 years it's been a city of ideas and imagination.

"When you have a whole city just devoted to thinking and innovation, all kinds of things happen - apart from the academic stuff, lots of fantasy and nonsense ideas come out.

"In a way Alice is a flagship of that phenomenon, and that's what is being celebrated.

"When you run an Alice shop, all customers are in a good mood. We don't get any grumpy people at all - as soon as people come in, they are smiling."