{{Short description|Victorian-style festival}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} [[File:At the Dickens Fair.jpg|thumb|Performers at the 2014 Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California]] A '''Dickens fair''' (also '''Dickensian evening''', '''Dickens Christmas fair''', '''Dickens fête,''' or '''Dickens festival''') is a weekend or multi-day gathering open to the public that attempts to recreate a Victorian English setting reminiscent of the novels of Charles Dickens. Events may be outdoor, indoor or a combination of the two. Many are Christmas-themed, a reflection of the enduring legacy of Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''.<ref name= "Zavoral2017">{{cite web|last1=Zavoral|first1=Linda|title=Annual Dickens Fair chases the Scrooge away|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/24/annual-dickens-fair-chases-the-scrooge-away/|website=The Mercury News|publisher=Bay Area News Group|access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref> The fairs generally include costumed participants, musical and theatrical acts, art, handicrafts, food and drink for sale.
==Characteristics== Dramatic and musical entertainment, artisan demonstrations, dancing, parades, and lectures or discussions on literary or historical topics may be part of the events. Costumed entertainers often impersonate characters from Dickens' novels, as well as historical figures such as Queen Victoria.
==Origins== The first known Dickens fair was arranged by the Rev. F. J. Mills during July 1897 in the English seaside town of Broadstairs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 July 1897 |title=The Dickens Fete at Broadstairs |pages=5 |work=Westminster Gazette}}</ref> Broadstairs also lays claim to the longest running Dickens fair, The Broadstairs Dickens Festival, which was founded by Captain Miles Conway Robson in 1937.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 April 1939 |title=The Dickens! |pages=2 |work=The Thanet Advertiser}}</ref> Unlike most British and American Dickensian fairs that take place in December, Broadstairs Dickens Festival is usually held in the second or third week of June.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadstairsdickensfestival.co.uk/|title=Welcome to the Broadstairs Dickens Festival website|website=www.broadstairsdickensfestival.co.uk}}</ref>
==History of Dickens fairs in the United States== [[File:Dickens Christmas, Skaneateles, NY 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|A performer dressed as Jacob Marley at the Dickens Christmas event in Skaneateles, New York]] Ron Patterson and his wife Phyllis started the first "Renaissance Pleasure Faire" in southern California in 1963, making it an annual event beginning in spring 1966.<ref name=Thomas>{{Citation | first1 = Peter | last1 = Thomas | first2 = Michael | last2 = Kember | first3 = Richard J | last3 = Sneed | title = The Faire: Photographs and History of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire from 1963 onwards | publisher = The Good Book Press | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DudIHAAACAAJ| year = 1987 | oclc= 26491008}}.</ref> Five years later, they initiated a fall Renaissance fair in the San Francisco Bay Area with a harvest theme. These traditions took root locally and spread across the country.<ref name="Rubin2014">{{cite book|author=Rachel Lee Rubin|title=Well Met: Renaissance Faires and the American Counterculture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DIMTCgAAQBAJ|date=22 February 2014|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-5972-6|oclc= 940886737}}</ref> They then launched the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, an indoor event, in San Francisco in 1970.<ref name = "Lipsky2016">{{cite web | url = https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/san-francisco/dickens-fair-christmas-san-francisco | title = What the Hell Is The Dickens Fair, the Christmas Tradition in Daly City? | last = Lipsky | first = Jessica | date = 2016-12-15 | website = Thrillist | publisher = Group Nine Media Inc. | access-date = 2017-12-20}}</ref> This has also inspired similar events across the U.S.
==Contemporary Dickens fairs in England== Beginning in the 1980s, the English town of Ware began hosting a Charles Dickens themed carnival during the first week of December to welcome the arrival of Santa Claus.<ref>[http://www.waretourism.org.uk/dickensian_evening.html Ware Tourism]</ref> The 25th Dickensian Evening was held in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dickensian.org.uk/photo-album-stalls-food-traders/|title=25th Ware Dickensian Evening}}</ref> Townspeople wear Victorian costumes, local businesses and volunteer groups run food and gift stalls to raise money for charity, actors perform short, open-air plays such as ''A Christmas Carol'', a craft fair is held in the drill hall, a nativity scene is unveiled in St Mary's Church, a choir sings Christmas carols in the churchyard, puppeteers and street musicians entertain the public, and fairground rides and games are hosted in the town centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/here-best-pictures-wares-dickensian-866727|title=All the best pictures from Ware's Dickensian Evening|first=Matthew|last=Mohan-Hickson|date=Dec 2, 2017|website=Herts Live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/christmas-markets-hertfordshire-12-festive-3435126|title=12 magical Christmas markets in Herts you won't want to miss this year|first=Danielle|last=Elton|date=Oct 24, 2019|website=Herts Live}}</ref> The highlight of the evening involves the mayor turning on the Christmas lights and leading a procession featuring costumed performers and dancers, horse drawn beer wagons from McMullen's Brewery, the town crier, carnival floats, and marching band(s).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/content/herts-history/towns-and-villages/ware/wares-dickensian-evening-2009|title=Ware's Dickensian Evening 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/whats-on/wares-dickensian-evening-feature-two-816848|title=Here's why you should be excited for Ware's Dickensian Evening|first=Huw|last=Wales|date=Nov 22, 2017|website=Herts Live}}</ref> The 26th Dickensian Evening was relaunched in December 2022, after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://waretowncouncil.gov.uk/2022/09/08/dickensian-evening-is-back-for-2022/|title=Dickensian Evening is Back for 2022!|date=Sep 8, 2022}}</ref> For the 29th Dickensian Evening of 2025, a parade of historic carnival lanterns was introduced for the first time.<ref>[https://www.waretowncouncil.gov.uk/2026/01/lantern-parade-pays-tribute-to-wares-historic-lanterns/ First lantern parade in Ware]</ref> The 30th Dickensian evening is expected to take place on December 4, 2026.<ref>[https://dickensian.org.uk/faqs/ Ware Dickensian official website]</ref>
The commercialised American approach was later exported to England. A warehouse-based theme park, Dickens World, opened in Kent, England, in May 2007.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/apr/18/classics.travelnews | title = What the Dickens? | newspaper = The Guardian | date = 2007-04-18 | location=London | first=Simon | last=Swift}}.</ref><ref name=Guardian>{{cite news|last1=Addley|first1=Esther|title=High times aboard the sewer boat ride to the slums|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/apr/19/books.booksnews|access-date=14 January 2015|agency=The Guardian|date=19 April 2007}}</ref> It closed on 12 October 2016.<ref name="Pyman 12 10 2016">{{cite news|last1=Pyman|first1=Tom|title=Popular tourist attraction closes as staff 'told of redundancies via social media'|url=http://www.kentnews.co.uk/business/popular_tourist_attraction_closes_as_staff_told_of_redundancies_via_social_media_1_4732889|access-date=13 October 2016|work=Kent News Online|publisher=KOS Media, Archant Community Media Ltd|date=12 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013124703/http://www.kentnews.co.uk/business/popular_tourist_attraction_closes_as_staff_told_of_redundancies_via_social_media_1_4732889|archive-date=13 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Other towns that organise yearly Dickensian fairs in December include Whitby, Lostwithiel, Tavistock, and Weymouth, Dorset.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nothefort.org.uk/whats-on/news-archive/dickensian-evening-fort?occurrenceID=18794|title=Dickensian Evening at the Fort :: Nothe Fort Weymouth|website=nothefort.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visit-tavistock.co.uk/dickensian-evening|title=Dickensian Evening|website=Tavistock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lostwithiel.org.uk/dickensian-evening#:~:text=On+a+cold,+dark+Thursday,old+fashioned,+traditional+Christmas+experience.|title=Dickensian Evening : Lostwithiel|website=www.lostwithiel.org.uk}}</ref> Whitby's Dickensian evening is unique as it incorporates steampunk and gothic horror themes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/made-in-whitby-christmas-festival-2023-live-music-market-and-dickensian-entertainment-at-whitby-brewery-4448709|title=Made in Whitby Christmas Festival 2023: Live music, market and Dickensian entertainment at Whitby Brewery}}</ref>
== See also == * Renaissance fair * Revels * Neo-Victorian * Steampunk * Victoriana
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.renfaire.com/Sites/dickens.html List of Dickens fairs] (U.S.) *[https://www.edwardianball.com/ Edwardian Ball] - a California ball inspired by the works of Edward Gorey and loosely set in the Edwardian era
{{Reenactment}} {{Charles Dickens}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens Fair}} Category:Christmas in the United States Category:Festivals in the United States Category:Historical reenactment events Category:History festivals by period Category:Theatre festivals in the United States Category:Organized events in Daly City, California