Girls and dolls arrived at the Historic Thomas Center Sunday afternoon dressed for tea and patriotism.
“Tea for Felicity,” an event featuring an American Girl Doll whose story takes place in revolutionary America, invited Gainesville residents to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary for free. The event included a theatrical play, a reading of the full Declaration of Independence, a quill-and-ink writing demonstration, a tea party and live music performed by a string quintet.
Over 70 people attended the event, held from 2 to 5 p.m at the Historic Thomas Center in Gainesville’s Duckpond Neighborhood. The center was decorated with chairs and tables draped in black tablecloths, purple fabric strips, baby pink teacups and white teapots adorned with roses.
Some young girls brought their own American Girl Dolls, dressed in attire ranging from floral dresses to colorful leggings. Some parents joined in by dressing up in their own teatime best.
Members of Star Center Theater, a local Gainesville theater company, performed the play. The production followed Felicity Merriman, a young girl living during colonial America.
As Felicity, 10, learns how to properly pour tea as a host and accept it as a guest, her tea companions begin to berate her father for protesting British taxes. As girls her age disagree with radical events — such as the Boston Tea Party — Felicity struggles to fit in under her father’s views.
Rhonda Wilson, the producing director and founder of Star Center Theatre, said incorporating history into theater isn’t new for the organization.
“Tea for Felicity” is the first of a series of six events, all of which are parts of “Plays In The Park,” a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. “Plays In The Park” is backed by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, which is meant to showcase local theater in Gainesville, she said.
“The arts do so much for people,” Wilson said. “You meet people you won’t get a chance to meet in other places. It’s a level playing field for kids.”
Star Center Theatre partners with the city of Gainesville frequently for events like “Tea for Felicity,” Wilson said. Local arts are a way to get both children and adults involved in theater, she added.
Leahannah Harriss, an 11-year-old Gainesville resident and actress at Star Center Theatre, played the title character in “Tea for Felicity.”
“When I first did acting, it just brought out another side in me,” Leahannah said. “Like, the funny side, and it helped me learn how to act out emotions very well.”
Her favorite part of performing “Tea for Felicity” was the first scene, she said, where she got to talk with the other young actresses in the play.
The tea in the play was real, she added, and she enjoyed drinking it.
The play lasted 30 minutes and was followed by a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Gregg Jones, an active member of the Hippodrome Theatre. Following the reading, guests participated in other activities on their own.
The quill-and-ink demonstration supplied guests with blue and gold quills, all provided by a local macaw named “Tagalong,” or “Tag” for short. None of the feathers were plucked; instead, the event used feathers naturally molted from the bird.
After the demonstration, guests could try their own hands at writing with a quill and ink. As they tried to get enough ink on their quills — or prevent too much ink from spilling on the paper — guests also listened to the history of the men who wrote the original Declaration of Independence.
While most of the events took place inside the Historic Thomas Center, the tea parties took place on the outside patio. Guests were greeted with an outdoor view of the Historic Thomas Center’s lawn, a light breeze and as many sugar cubes as they wanted to add to their teacups.
About halfway through the event, a group of five string players set up indoors to perform live music — playing mellow country and bluegrass on instruments such as the violin, cello and guitar.
Claudia Cullen, a 55-year-old Gainesville resident, attended the event with her son and his girlfriend.
“I thought it was a great way to start the celebration of the 250 years of independence,” Cullen said.
She thought the play was well done, she said, and it was a short way to portray how America refused rules imposed by the king. Cullen plans to attend all six events for “Plays In The Park.”
The next event, “Josefina’s Gift,” will take place April 18 at Green Tree Park from 2 to 5 p.m. It will feature the Josefina American Girl Doll character, who lived in the New Mexico area in 1824 after Mexico gained independence from Spain.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Spring 2025 University Administration reporter. They previously worked as the Santa Fe reporter. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, watching Marvel movies and traveling the country for music festivals.
