Six weeks out of surgery Ammie Graves-Fisher wanted a way to thank her customers for all their support during her sabbatical from Alligator Rose. She decided to launch her grand reopening with a tea party. It was a day of fun for everyone. About forty people attended and around twenty-two stayed to have tea.

Seated at tables decorated with baby's breath and roses, attendees were served tea and gourmet food treats as they played games for prizes donated by vendors from the First Friday Night Market. Alligator Rose does a night market every First Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. The next market will begin back up in March. Ammie says, "I just love to highlight people that are crafting items from their own hands and I want to support that with all my heart. A lot of the ladies that are part of the Night Market chipped in with prizes from their inventory."

There was a true and false questionnaire about Martin Luther King Jr. The quiz was informative about things you may not know, such as he skipped grades 9 and 12 and attended college at the age of 15. Hannah Claire won first place with eight correct answers out of ten. Bingo came next and it was such a big hit that several games were played. Lori Martin, a newcomer to Alligator Rose, won the raffle prize. Martin received a gift basket with assorted products.

Scott Taylor from Taylor's Provisions, gave a presentation about all the tea varieties that he offers. He has about forty different loose leaf teas in his shop. Taylor educated the guests on different varieties of teas and their properties.

Another highlight of the day were two young ladies Bryleigh Backes and Audrina Meunier. The girls came dressed as princesses. Ammie let the little ladies enjoy antique china cups and told them they would receive a prize if they didn't break the cups by the end of the tea party. "I said it with a smile on my face because I wasn't too attached to the cups but I wanted them to have the experience of having grown up antique ware," Ammie said.

Everyone said they enjoyed the tea party so much they suggested it be repeated on multitude occasions. Ammie said she will offer it again as a Valentine's tea party.

Alligator Rose is located at 117 S. Mill St. Suite H, Tehachapi. Hours are Tuesday from 11:30 to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Friday from 10 to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 11 to 3 p.m. For more information feel free to call Ammie at (562) 235-1069.