'It Was the Best of Times' At The 31st Annual Dickens Fair
The 31st Great Dickens Christmas Fair is coming, yet again, to the San Francisco Cow Palace exhibition halls. It is scheduled to run from Friday, November 27 to Sunday, December 20. Originally created by Ron and Phyllis Patterson, the fair began in 1970. Currently, Kevin and Leslie Patterson and Red Barn Productions produce it. “My wife Leslie and I felt that it was important to carry on a family legacy, and to bring back an event that was so important to so many people,” says Kevin Patterson proudly.
The holiday festival is a living relic of bustling Victorian streets. It was founded originally “to give the workers and public who enjoyed the Renaissance Pleasure Faires in 1970 a show to enjoy in the winter. Victorian England with Dickens was a perfect segue from Elizabethan England with Shakespeare,” says Patterson. The Dickens Fair is a remarkably accurate replica of the world painted in the books of the Charles Dickens.
It features a Victorian atmosphere with more than 700 eccentric, vivid and outrageous characters from literature and history, costumed players and six stages with live entertainment. When wandering down the winding lanes of Victorian London through the boisterous crowds, visitors can discover alleys filled with theaters, shops, pubs, and delectable delicacies to tickle the taste buds. The fresh smell of baked holiday goods, roasted almonds, and hot cider fill the air.
There are countless treasures available for anyone to admire or purchase as a holiday gift. “Some of the vendor
booths start going up two to three weekends in advance, but other booths it takes only a few days to put up,” Lynda Willson, an attendant at the Adorn Thy Hair booth, says. Guests can find many new treasures to take home, including
Victorian reproductions, breathtaking jewelry and accessories, pleasing pewter ware, fine art, and handsome clothing. Approximately 100 vendors are present at the fair each year. “We turn away many; some because of physical space and some because of the strict authenticity and commitment necessary to participate as a vendor,” claims Patterson. Each craft is one of a kind, the majority handmade by local artisans. “Try on anything you see at the fair, because you won’t see it out there in the rest of the world ... Many artists don’t have websites and don’t go to other events so you won’t see their work anywhere else” Jude Darnell said confidently. Darnell has been a frequent attendee of the fair these past thirty years.
Visitors can also try their hands at the Victorian Harp and various other instruments. An 1860s printing press is available for all to experience the old fashioned way of printing books and pictures. Numerous games are available for all ages. At the Cat & Bull Gaming Parlor, visitors can participate in a proper game of pub darts. For children, there is a magical carousel with giant stuffed animal swings to ride upon.
The scent of fresh baked scones and cookies wafts through the air in mouth–watering aromas. Fish and chips, meat pies, and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding are all available for purchase. If meandering down the streets of Victorian London, one should not be surprised to see Old Father Christmas himself, with a parade of jolly holiday carolers and other joyous Dickens Fair goers. “The fairs we produce appeal to all ages and many interests.
Some come for the atmosphere, some for the party, some for the holiday flavor, some for the food, some for the hand crafts ... I think it is a powerful attraction ... the mix of so many interesting and enjoyable factors,” proclaimed Patterson.
Messengers run through the streets shouting out the name of the person they are delivering a telegram to. The boisterous songs of sailors echo throughout the halls. Soot covered chimneysweeps walk with brooms in hand, searching for a chimney to sweep. Live models sit in the window of a shop selling corsets. A man carrying a sign that reads “Gin is Sin” walks by lecturing anyone who appears to be drinking alcohol. The Dickens Fair provides an irresistible atmosphere to enjoy the holidays.
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