The Great Dickens Christmas Fair (The NoPro Review)
Spend the holidays in wintry Victorian London without leaving foggy San Francisco
As a kid, I used to read “A Christmas Carol” every year. Each year, after our annual visit to my great grandmother’s house, we’d pack into the car, eyes glued to the sky hoping for a sleigh sighting, arriving home where I’d grab my worn copy of Dickens most accessible novella and get to work. Through the years, the tradition has changed and, to be honest, mostly been replaced by the first 2 or 3 showings of a “A Christmas Story” on basic cable, but the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s redemption has always held a special place in my heart. And while the definitive retelling of the story already exists (it’s the Muppet version*, and you won’t convince me otherwise), my hopes were high upon learning of the Bay Area’s annual tradition — The Great Dickens Christmas Fair.
The Great Dickens Fair is massive undertaking, and it is many things to many people. For hundreds of performers, artisans, and musicians, it is an annual tradition that dates back to 1970, when Ron and Phyllis Patterson, two Los Angeles theatre enthusiasts and creators of the Renaissance Faire, decided to bring the fair to the Bay Area after hosting a Victorian-themed house party. Since then, the annual event has become ingrained in local holiday custom, as well as serving as an annual pilgrimage for many families from across the country. Each day of the five weekend-long season is Christmas Eve in Victorian London, complete with pubs, restaurants, dioramas, theaters, shops — in upscale streets and in tawdry docksides and back alleys. Most intriguing were whispers of a secret opium den, which I searched high and low for — alas, to no avail (I’m a sucker for a speakeasy).
To describe the event as a “fair” belies the complexity of the undertaking and the commitment of the actors. As the day progresses, participants can encounter elements of theatre, both traditional and immersive, LARP, cosplay, song, dance, puppetry, and historical re-enactment. All walks of life of Victorian London are found throughout the makeshift city, and you’re as likely to meet Queen Victoria as you are a drunken pirate (if you can wake her). Entertainment is equally varied, with everything from family-friendly retellings of classic holiday tales, meetings with Father Christmas, and carousel rides to more adult-oriented, bawdy performances at Mad Sal’s Dockside Ale house, and a nightly 18+ partially nude Saucy French Postcards Revue.
The physical space is also a testament to the power of effective set design. While the physical constraints of the Cow Palace are always present (there’s always a roof over your head), it’s easy to get lost on the details of the fantastical London streets — perusing the multitude of artisan shops, from candles and soaps to period appropriate attire, to the more anachronistic (the silver and jewel encrusted dragon mug I purchased is more Game of Thrones than Christmas Carol, but it came with a free drink and a song at the nearby pub). Stop into the Adventurer’s Club to hear a reading (by the author, of course) from “The Portrait of Dorian Grey” or a passionate unironic retelling of the most minute details of the Afghan War. Stop in at one of the many pubs to meet Mr. Dickens himself, or visit Fezziwig’s dance floor and dance the night away. Or, for a small fee, stop by the telegraph office to send a message to a fellow attendee, and be sure to keep an ear out for the crier’s who carry those messages throughout the city, as the name they’re calling may be your own .
Entering the fair for the first time, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the immensity of the performance options. Fortunately, the newspaper provided on entry serves as a schedule and map, though visitors shouldn’t be frightened to wander freely through the streets of London. Throughout the 120,000 square foot complex, you’re sure to find lavishly costumed, enthusiastic performers to wish you a “Happy Christmas, sir,” bartenders eager to share a riddle, or Ebenezer Scrooge himself. The latter was a highlight of my experience, and highlights why The Great Dickens Fair works so well as a day long work of theatre. Key elements of Scrooge’s Christmas Eve redemption play out at scheduled times throughout the day, but you’re just as likely to encounter him being led through the complex by his trio of spirits. As he was led through the streets, peering in windows at visions shared by the Spirit of Christmas Past, one performer muttered, almost inaudibly, “The oddest thing! Ebenezer Scrooge wandering alone through the streets in his undergarments!” And later, as my family and I sat, gorging ourselves on fish and chips, meat pies, and haggis, an ebullient voice suddenly bellowed from behind us, “Behold! The true meaning of Christmas! Families and friends, kith and kin, happy, together! Long life to you all! Happy Christmas!” And as the Ghost of Christmas Present mirthfully waxed on, Old Scrooge gazed in amazement, as if my family were Nephew Fred or the Cratchits themselves.
Even the more traditional staged performances feel like they’re taking place in a venue built within the established world. As I walked through the streets, I was drawn into a performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan by performers offering flyers for the local performance, and performers were scattered throughout the audience to sing and comment on the on-stage action.
Whether it be a love of the holidays, a nostalgic sense of Anglophilia, a love of costume, a well-honed Cockney accent, or just a desire to get those out of town relatives out of your house for a few hours, it’s difficult not to get into the spirit of the fair. Between the hundreds of performers and countless more visitors, a large majority of whom arrive in costume and in character, there’s something almost mystifying about a group of people bound together in spirit, enthusiastically and completely uncynical, to have a good time and share in holiday cheer. And there’s nothing more quintessentially San Franciscan than, faced with yet another year without a White Christmas, banding together with common purpose and creating our own. If there’s one principle that binds together the eclectic bunch of people converging on the Cow Palace every weekend in December, it’s that it’s just not the holidays without The Great Dickens Fair.
I’ll be back next year, and if anyone knows how to get into that secret opium den, let me know.
*the VHS edit
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair is open through December 23rd, Saturday and Sunday from 10a-7p. It will, of course, return next year. Tickets available at DickensFair.com
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