Dickens Festival
Photographer, editor, travel writer, and Narberth resident, Don Groff, captured the spirit of the 2009 Narberth Dickens Festival in photos. For the second year, he has created a beautiful slideshow of the event:
©2009 Donald D. Groff
E-mail us at info@narberthonline.com to comment on the slideshow or for information about any of the photos.
See below for information posted before the 2009 festival:
What is the Narberth Dickens Fest?
The Narberth Dickens Festival is a free family event held on a Saturday afternoon every December on the streets of downtown Narberth. This year's event is from Noon to 4pm on December 12.
The event had a modest start in 2006, when the Narberth Business Association hired a brass quartet to stroll through town playing holiday music. It was met with such enthusiasm that the NBA expanded the entertainment to create a Dickens themed event, complete with horse and carriage rides, musicians, Christmas carolers, plus Ebeneezer Scrooge and all the characters from “A Christmas Carol”.
A Christmas Carol has long been a holiday favorite, so families have little trouble identifying all their favorite characters around town. There’s a scavenger hunt for the children, sending them searching high and low for every character in order to win a prize. The 2008 prize was a top hat that was worn all afternoon by hundreds of kids throughout Narberth’s version of 1840’s London . Walt Disney’s November 6 release of “A Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey is likely to put even more focus on the Dickens classic this holiday season.
What does it look like?
Don Groff, a Narberth photographer, travel writer, and editor at the Philadelphia Daily News, captures the theater, cheer and exuberance of the Dickens Festival in a few minutes of photos from the 2008 festival.
2008 Dickens Fest Slide Show: http://tempuri.org/tempuri.html
How do I get involved?
Planning Meetings: Wednesdays at 7:30 PM - at Maido!
Our last planning meeting for Dickens Festival is 7:30 pm, December 9, at Maido. Everyone interested in helping or performing at this year's event is encouraged to attend. If you can't attend the meetings, but still want to help at the event, e-mail us at info@narberthonline.com.
If I'm already involved, what do I need to know?
Make sure you have your costume ready, and that you have any tables, tents, or props you need. If you need a costume, we can rent one for you inexpensively. E-mail us at info@narberthonline.com.
We'll have breakfast and final staging prep at McSheas at 10:30 the morning of the event.
Special Events at the Dickens Fest
Victorian Scarf Dyeing : Noon-4 PM - The Bridge, 33 N. Narberth Ave
Kids and adults can learn the ancient art of marbling with Richard Aldorasi of the Philadelphia Handmade Paper Co. Marbling is the art of creating floating pictures on top of a special patterns of color are created using special tools know as rakes and cowater bath. After selecting and applying paint from 22 different color choices ,swirling mbs .The scarves are then dyed with these patterns and will make beautiful gifts for the holidays. An assortment of scarves will be available to purchase and dye.