The Bay Area’s annual holiday event
Leo Lopez
Let’s take a trip back in time to the Victorian era. The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is an annual holiday event at the Brown Cow Palace exhibition halls in Daly City, California, which replicates Charles Dickens’s novella, A Christmas Carol, in late 1800s Victorian London. This wonderful experience includes entertainment, food, friendly costumed performers, and artisan stalls consisting of homemade goods! Wander through the unique streets and alleys while you enjoy a traditional cone of sweet roasted chestnuts. Enjoy the wonderful smell of fresh-baked goods while watching a street performer juggle knives while balancing on a piece of wood on top of a cylinder.
There is a chance you will come across a man impersonating Charles Dickens, his engaging theatrical interpretation of Dickens entrances visitors and gets people into the Christmas spirit. This performer begins, “In the words of Scrooge’s nephew Fred, ‘The only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!’” The performers love to spread joy, whether they’re speaking from the heart or reciting famous quotes from books.
Many of the performers, artisans, and loyal patrons consider it a tradition to attend every year. Many date their first Dickens Fair experience all the way back to the first opening day. One vendor selling her homemade jewelry recalled her favorite part of the fair and her history of annually attending “The setup, when the lights all come on, that’s the best part… I’ve been coming here since it started at the Cow Palace. It hasn’t changed for the 24 years I’ve been coming here with my kids.” Regulars love that the fair brings them emotions of peace and comfort; for some, it’s a sense of nostalgia.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is a wonderful place to get some Christmas cheer over the weekend. Bring your family and friends, and don’t be afraid to put on your best flat cap, cloak, ball gown, or any other 1800s apparel, as you will probably get some compliments!
