A MADD Hatter Tea Party…

Photo by Sharyn Resvick

My friends, Pam and Sharyn, and I had so much fun at the “MADD Hatter Tea Party” May 7 at the Lake George Municipal Complex in St. Cloud! It was a kick-off event for the “2011 St. Cloud Walk like MADD 5K” Aug. 27 at Warner Lake Park near Clearwater, Minnesota.

Jenna Vavra, Julie Blank and the other members of the planning committee took their hat-clad “guests” on an enchanting trip to Wonderland with their creative theme. The party room was brightly trimmed with ever-so-imaginative decorations — from stacks of mismatched teacups, saucers and teapots and oversized playing cards on the table to huge pink flamingos and gigantic card soldiers adorning the walls to colorful round paper lanterns and lovely large flowers hanging from the ceiling.

Photo by Sharyn Resvick

The festive buffet of treats included several fancifully named bite-sized morsels such as Queen of Hearts Lemon Tarts, Dormouse Mousse Melts, March Hare Brownie Hops, Chocolate Covered Toadstools and White Rabbit Carrot Cake. Aptly encouraging signs printed with the words “Eat Me” were generously scattered among the treats. A silent auction featuring a potpourri of enticing items, bake sale with teapot-shaped cakes and “melt away” cookies and the door prize of an enormous teacup planted with sweet alyssum and pansies extended the motif of the magical world where Alice visited.

This cleverly designed fundraiser also relayed a thought-provoking message. Jenna and Julie spearheaded this Mothers Against Drunk Driving event to educate others about the organization and its mission — to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this preventable crime and curtail underage drinking.

Both women have lost a loved one in an accident involving a drunk driver. Andrea Rieger, Jenna’s 28-year-old sister, died 11 years ago in Montana when a drunk driver crashed into the car she was driving. And, Julie, the founder of “St. Cloud Walk like MADD,” lost her 13-year-old daughter, Krysta Jo Mozena, a passenger in a similar incident near Annandale, Minnesota, in 2006.

Photo by Angie Fracassi

Jenna is the team captain of “Andrea’s Alliance,” a group created in memory of her sister with the purpose of raising money to donate to MADD. The tea party, one of the recipients of a Pay It Forward grant from The Visitor during Lent, netted $640 for the “St. Cloud Walk like MADD 5K.”

To join a walking team for the Aug. 27 event or make an online donation, visit www.walklikemadd.org and click on “St. Cloud.” Checks may be sent by mail to: MADD MN, 155 S Wabasha St., Suite 104, St. Paul, MN 55107, with “Andrea’s Alliance” in the memo line.

Please check in again in the next few days. Recipes are forthcoming for the lemon macaroons (a.k.a. Queen of Hearts Lemon Tarts) and cake pops (a.k.a. Chocolate Covered Toadstools and White Rabbit Carrot Cake) served at the tea party. CJK