Royal T's Candyland event took place August 1, 2009. The event was hosted by Betty (Wasabi on Den of Angels). The event garnered much publicity from Facebook and LAist. Candyland was both a doll event and a Sweet Lolita event. The colorful party took place at Royal T. The venue is known for being the stateside premiere maid cafe akin to the likes in Tokyo's Akihabara district. Royal T's maid cafe is not only cafe, but also fuctions as a space for post-modern art and the Valley of the Dolls. As a (ball joint) doll hobbyist, I thought the event was nice because it allowed for all kinda of dolls to be present - not just your typical Asian Ball Joint Doll.

Deb and I went to the event with our dolls. Deb brought Elphaba (Bobobie Isabella). I brought Eponine (CP Nara), Cosette (MSD Mika), Sherry (CH Choa), two Strawberry Shortcake dolls, one Cherry Merry Muffin doll, and dolls from You Only Live Twice (James Bond and Aki). In fact, before leaving, we just finished posting a doll related video story, Cosette Lovegood and the Half Wit Fangirl. Taking the dolls to this event was like their reward for "working" hard on the video story.

We left the South Bay at around 2:30PM, but did not get there until 3:45PM. Normally, it takes 20 minutes to get to and from, but the roads in Culver City were made of fail as it was confusing to navigate Washington Boulevard.

Washington Boulevard is also home to Twelve Oaks from Gone with the Wind. The structure used for the classic are now offices for Sony Pictures.

By the time we arrived, Jared was already there taking a nap. We decided to set up in the doll room. There were plenty of dolls on display. The room was rather crowded with many Lolitas in their best sweet style outfits. Otherwise, the usual Asian Ball Joint Dolls and their Dollfie Dream cousins took over the room.

Someone also brought some really awesome Fate / Stay Night dolls as well!

There were also lovely sweet style Lolita accessories being sold.

In addition to a few special events happening, there was a raffle done sporadically throughout the event. There were DJ's playing Japanese pop music ranging from Pizzicato Five to Perfume. There was free cotton candy provided by Tasty Clouds. Watermelon flavored cotton candy is quite an adventure. There was also a nice Candyland themed backdrop for photo ops. Mr. Postman happily took pictures of attendees.

Jared was nice to reserve us a table for three. The event looked like it was short staffed. While Royal T normally functions as a maid cafe, we were also served by oiran and a nurse. Jared and I enjoyed our strawberry flavored high tea for the price of $25. Deb ordered the curry. All of us agreed that the food was delicious.

However, because of the lack of staff, it took a while to process the bill. Jared and I were killing time by playing thumb wars.

In addition to afternoon tea, guests can also buy sweet treats like cake and cupcakes for $3 each.

The event was sweet. Maybe a little too sweet. When the DJ played, "I am the Gummy Bear," we had our knives held high ready for the kill. There is such thing as being on too much helium where it makes your typical bubblegum pop sound as healthy as liver and onions.

We took advantage of the Candyland back drop. For the record, Jared dressed up in Sicillian style.

Deb went in my casual Lolita outfit while wearing her Sailor Saturn wig. I think we all can agree that Deb is very "moe" in casual Lolita. Deb is so cute that Jared would like to add her to his figure collection. (Yet, if you tick her off, she'll take you down Moe Syslack style.)

I just went in my Princess K costume from the game, The World Ends With You. I finished the costume the night before the event.

To fit in with the Candyland theme, a separate room was decorated to resemble the board game. Lots of giant lolipops, candy canes, and M&M balloons were used to create this sugary, sweet atmosphere.

Deb and I visisted the Valley of the Dolls shop. Deb bought a new outfit for Elphaba. They were selling lucky boxes. These boxes had a random outfit that could fit a 1/6 scale doll. Deb and I noticed there was a pink nurses outfit as part of the random selection. Because both of us recognized the style from a certain anime that will not be named, we looked at Jared really funny.

Deb ended up getting a police uniform. Now Elphaba and Bart Boy (Team Misaki) can go on crazy buddy cop adventures. He's a tough cop from the Bay Area, she's a rookie from the Emerald City, together they are going to clean up the streets...their style! Wicked.

For the most part, we were just enjoying ourselves. The party was dying down at about 7PM. We realized it was about time to pack up and go. I remembered I had reserved a Breakfast at Tiffany's Pullip from Valley of the Dolls, but she was gone. Yet, not to worry as the owner assured me that they would ship her out to me for free. Thank you, Valley of the Dolls.

And what better way to hammer down Candyland by saving the last dance for us:

Overall, despite navigating fail roads to get to the 405 South, the Scarlet Rhapsody crew had a nice time. It was great seeing familliar face - Ebi, Betty, Elecktra, Dandy, Sakura, Postman, and others. We hope to see you guys soon. Even if we were outsiders looking in, we had a nice time at the Lolita / Doll event. There was no air of elitism from either the Lolita or doll community. Everyone was there to enjoy themselves and have a good time.

Betty mentioned on Den of Angels that there will be another Royal T event in December. Whenever that will be held, you can bet that the Scarlet Rhapsody crew will be there.

For more Scarlet Rhapsody press reports, please visit Traveling to read more. Traveling - convention reports that rock!

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