Chapter 2~Dickens

As promised, I am breaking the blogs up!

The first weekend of Dickens was last week.  I was fortunate enough to be able to work the first two days of the opening weekend.  Besides working I was able to wander around shortly on breaks and all I can say is WOW!  It was so busy and there were so many people.  It was fantastic.  I arrived early for work at Cuthbert's Tea Shoppe, while passing the main gate I noted that the lines were crazy long and as I tried to find parking...well I had to get creative and park in the boondocks all the way in the back.  I just glad I arrived early both days otherwise there wouldn't have been anywhere to park in the lower lot.  I'm just happy that I had enough time to get ready and get to the shop in time for my shift.  The one thing I noted is the snippets of conversations of the patrons as I was heading in and that there were new people that had never been to the Dickens fair before.  There were families mostly with the kids asking, "Where are we going?"  "What's this place?"  "Is this a fair?"   Of course, there were the normal parent answers like, "Weren't you listening when we told you where we were going?"  but most of the responses were gentle explanations.  I also liked the look of excitement and curiosity when the children would see people people in costume.  Some were asking their parents why the people were "dressed like that".  The only response was, "You'll see" with a smile.  I believe I witnessed the beginning of a holiday tradition for more than one family this past weekend :-).

The shop is in a spot in the back by a bay door and I am thankful for that.  With so many people enjoying themselves, it get mighty stuffy in there so it's always nice to poke your head out for some air-especially when your working in layers.  The shop was pretty busy and as always the line was long with people trying to get a seat for tea and that's a good thing.  But most of the time, everyone that was working in the tea shop stayed in the tea shop.

The shop is bigger this year to accommodate the extra patrons-it's like they knew there would be more people ;-).  Actually the whole layout of Dickens is a bit different but roomier this year.  This is a good thing for getting around.

I came across many of the usual suspects while wandering aimlessly.  The funniest moment was when talking to Cory, he noted that Grant Imahara of "MythBusters" was standing near us.  He was shopping with friends and Cory was playing with the idea of getting a photo of him.  While we were farting around with the idea, one of the gentlemen that was standing waiting for a lady friend that was shopping nearby asked Cory if he would make a custom corsage.  Cory was obliged to make a beautiful set of posies.  While Cory was working, Grant wandered over to where Cory was and pulled out his iPhone and took a picture of him working.  All I could do was laugh because instead of Grant Imahara being in Cory's photo album, it will be Cory in his instead. Funny how things work out sometimes.

Well, this is the second weekend and I will be there Sunday.  I am looking forward to it.  There is something about being there that makes the spirit of the season more real for me, if you know what I mean.  I really can't imagine not being at Dickens.  It's the smell of the roasted nuts and the perfumes.  It's the Christmas carols sung by the carolers heard while walking.  It's the songs from Mad Sal's and seeing the Can Can dancers.  It's the sea shanty songs.  It's the looks on the faces of the patrons, you can see that they feel the spirit of the season too.  It's as if  the Spirit of Christmas Present was there himself spreading the cheer of the season for all that are present to partake in it. If you haven't had a chance to visit the Great Christmas Dickens Fair then now would be the time to try to make it!  There is something for everyone, large and small.  So perhaps I will see you at fair~
http://www.dickensfair.com/