You can check out my flickr set here.

Just when I thought I’d already found a few of the strangest/quirkiest events occurring around the city, this “party”  topped them all off. Where else can you find grown men dressed like Alice of Wonderland, and grown folks acting like they’ve lost a few screws. Well… NY is definitely the place to come if you want to try to find stranger things.

The Annual “Mad Hatter Tea Party” sponsored by the Free Art Society took place in Tompkins Square Park of NYC’s East Village. Just the perfect setting for this kind of craze. The Free Art Society consists of an amalgam of musicians and artists who come together to break down barriers between artists and their community.

I was invited to photograph and video the event a few weeks ago, not having much of an idea about what I was getting into. But this is New York City, and adventure is part of its’ charm. I would be lucky to experience a sizable slice of all it has to offer in the summer-time.

The party was …wacky, almost TOO wacky for comfort. And the swarm of photographers and videographers that attended made conditions frustrating and somewhat hostile for good photographs, but I dare say- if it doesn’t kill you , it makes you better in the field!