INTERNATIONAL: Visitors walked among fantastical lighted sculptures in the gardens of a Lithuanian manor last Saturday with a display taking inspiration from the story 'Alice in Wonderland'. Characters such as the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and scenes such as the Mad Hatter's Tea Party were among the sights visitors could recognise from the tale.

Vadim Ovcinko, Pakruojis Manor's 'hofmarshal', said the idea was to offer visitors an escape to a fantasy setting after almost two years of the coronavirus pandemic.

He has said, "Each year we have a theme for this festival, this is the fourth festival. And this year we decided that after all this pandemic, people should come and feel something wonderful. So, Wonderland, it's from our childhood, Alice in Wonderland, from our childhood. So, we thought a bit of miracle a bit of story, if it's something good from our childhood will be very great and the people would love it."

Latvian visitor Kristine Veinsteina said she enjoyed the lighted sculptures. She says, "Very nice place and very good lights and story about Alice and Wonderland. Very, very nice, I'm very satisfied."

Marius Grigaitus, from Lithuania, said due to COVID-19 restrictions in the country closing indoor attractions the display at the manor was one of the few opportunities to see something special. He stated, "So, I guess like with COVID right, so only the outside activities are usually going on. So, I guess this is one of the outside activities where you can go and see something."

The hundreds of sculptures were created using silk and millions of coloured lamps, according to the manor's website.