As kids, we all wanted to take a trip through the looking glass into Alice's Wonderland to place croquet with the Red Queen, chit-chat with the Mad Hatter or maybe chase the White Rabbit. Well, now you can experience a taste of Lewis Carroll's absurdist fantasyland right here in Montreal at a new public terrasse called Prenez Place. Created by local artists and designers and decorated with flags and festive lights, the terrasse features a 320-foot-long yellow table that winds around trees and offers other surreal elements that'll make you feel just like Alice sitting down to a mad tea party.
"It's a very interesting piece of art and you can actually eat off of it," said Marc-André Carignan, the project manager behind the initiative.
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A number of brightly painted objects including lamps, cups and bottles have been attached strategically to the table to ensure social distancing, he said.
It's located in the Quartier des Spectacles between the Maison du développement durable and the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
Prenez Place is one of seven public terrasses that have been set up around the city to offer people safe and lovely places to hang out and each one has something special to offer, he said.
Carignan designed another public terrasse called Dada on the corner of Peel and Sainte-Catherine.
This one is built out of colourful wooden blocks where people can either climb and play or enjoy an al fresco meal from one of the many restaurants downtown.
"They're a little bit like Lego blocks," said Carignan. "People can sit on it or kids can actually jump on it and play, so it's another cool installation."
If you're looking for somewhere to get active — or anyplace to get the kids moving so they'll stop sitting all day in front of their damned laptops and phones — you should head over to one of the many art installations that have been set up around the city, he said.
One in the Old Port in front of Quai King Edward, appropriately named La Vague, looks like a series of waves built of wood.
Carignan said it's the perfect place to try out your parkour skills.
It's all part of the "Plan de relance du centre-ville," an initiative to help downtown businesses battered by the pandemic with new public spaces and cultural activities.
