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Photo by Johnny Wagner

Break out your bustle skirts and waistcoats, Fairbanks — It’s time to party like it’s 1899!

On Sunday, the Georgeson Botanical Garden Society will host its inaugural “Victorian Tea Party” from 1-4 p.m. at the gardens on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

According to Virginia Damron, GBGS president, the group envisions an elegant American Victorian-style event reminiscent of early Fairbanks.

“We want people to feel like they’ve been taken back in time,” she said. “It will be as formal as possible with linen tablecloths and china plates and real silver utensils.”

Those in attendance can sample Victorian teas and desserts, play period games like horseshoes, marbles and croquet, enjoy music and theater performances from the era and participate in garden tours throughout the afternoon.

While period dress is not required, GBGS member Anne Foster said she hopes people will wear Victorian attire to get a more authentic experience. Foster, who has worked at various living history museums and owns at least a dozen handmade Victorian outfits, said that dressing up allows people to learn more about the period and experience it more directly.

“I enjoy the insight that dressing up gives you into the social history of the time,” she said. “There are lots of things you don’t realize until you are in the clothing.”

According to Damron, the tea party is a fundraiser for the James V. Drew Outdoor Amphitheater at the gardens. Drew served as Dean of the School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management and Director of the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station for nearly 20 years and, upon his retirement in 1995, asked that people make contributions to the gardens in lieu of sending retirement gifts.

Construction of bench seating and a raised platform began in 1995, but funding ran out before a roof could be built for the structure.

From 2002-2006, the UA College of Fellows hosted “Goodies in the Garden,” an annual dessert party to raise money for the roof fund, but the fundraiser has since dissolved. Acording to Damron, GBGS hopes to make the tea party an annual event with a different tea-related theme each year.

“About a year ago now, when the Goodies in the Garden stopped, funding for the amphitheater ceased,” Damron said. “We wanted to educate the public about the gardens and realized we needed to get funding going again.”

Damron said the project, which she estimates will take another $30,000 to complete, will create a space that can be used for concerts, educational programs and other events that are currently unfeasible.

“The goal is now to build a roof so it can be used more frequently,” Foster said. “We want to create a bandshell-style enclosure that will match the existing roof on the pavilion.”