OXFORD is set to become a magical Wonderland for a day as the city celebrates one of its most famous fictional heroines.

The third Alice’s Day is on Saturday, July 10, with a host of activities celebrating Oxford author Lewis Carroll’s most famous creation, Alice in Wonderland.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to flock to the city to take part in Alice-themed events – with many expected to arrive in fancy dress imitating some of the books’ memorable characters.

Co-ordinator Esther Browning, of the Oxford-based Story Museum, said: “We are going to have dozens of things going on.

“One of the things we are really excited about is we have a theatre company hunting the fictional snark in the Botanic Gardens, which will be quite surreal.

“We hope people will dress up and give the city a sort of Wonderland feel.”

Alice’s Day was first held in 2007, and again last year.

More than 7,000 people took part in last year’s event, so organisers decided to make it an annual occasion.

Sixteen venues will stage Alice-related events.

They range from Salvador Dali’s Alice illustrations on display at the Bodleian Library, to a hands-on Wonderland exhibition at the Museum of Oxford and a Mad Hatter’s tea party inside Christ Church – the college where Lewis Carroll, real name was Charles Dodgson, was a maths don.

Blackwells Bookshop will hold a range of Jabberwocky activities, the Oxford Playhouse will hold an Alice-themed drama workshop, there will be an Alice guided walk around Christ Church Meadow, and the Red Queen and her playing-card soldiers will set up shop at Oxford Castle.

Ms Browning said that as well as appealing to children and families, Alice’s Day attracted serious Lewis Carroll enthusiasts and collectors. She said people were planning to come from as far away as Sweden and France.

She said: “Alice was pretty much the first story written down for children that was just about enjoyment rather than being a moralising story.

“It was written in Oxford and inspired by places and people around Oxford, which is what makes it special to the city.

“It has a massive following all round the globe.”

In the run-up, there will be a guided walk from Alice’s Shop, in St Aldate’s, arriving at The Perch Inn, Binsey, in time for a screening of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland on Friday, July 9, at 9pm.

  • For a full list of the activities taking place, visit the website storymuseum.org/alice