FIRST RUNNER-UP: "DILE"

Amazing day in New York! To find yourself in Central Park on a morning like this – priceless!

“Alice” was for a change not surrounded by a crowd due to an early hour. So here I am, introducing her to you. Please meet “Alice” - a whimsical sculpture of beloved character of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She is of course not alone. Sitting on a huge mushroom, Alice is surrounded by The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, The Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit, Alice’s Cat Dinah and Dormouse. This sculpture was commissioned in 1959 by a dear friend of Central Park, the philanthropist George Delacorte. The sculptor José de Creeft based his work on John Tenneil illustration for the first edition of the famous book.

This sculpture is located just steps from the Boat Pond, where you can rent a toy sailboat, making this whole area a children’s favorite.

I know a kid who, when he was very little, was in love with one of the animals from the “Alice” sculpture: a small crocodile. While everybody climbed the statue to the very top, this boy would run straight under the mushroom to say hello to his friend. Not surprising that he gave the statue a different name: Dile . That is how all who know him refer to Alice now. Dile.