http://www.galveston.com/dickens/overview.shtml
Dickens on The Strand
December 6-7, 2003
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Be it decreed that all lords, ladies and children shall come and celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Dickens on The Strand, a holiday festival, where bobbies, Beefeaters and the Queen herself will be on hand to recreate the Victorian London of Charles Dickens. Characters from Dickens novels walk the street. Food and entertainment fill the area with sights and smells that take you back to another era.
Hosted by GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION, Dickens on The Strand will take you and your family on an enchanted journey through history as a bustling 19th Century cityscape comes to life. For an entire weekend, hundreds of costumed vendors and performers will provide a look at the pomp and pageantry of the British Empire.
Centered in a 10-block area of Galveston’s The Strand National Historic Landmark District, located approximately one hour south of downtown Houston, the family festival will include three parades and free, non-stop entertainment on the festival’s six stages, plus strolling carolers and roving street musicians, bagpipers and entertainers. Additionally, a vast array of year-round restaurants and shops are joined by over 150 costumed vendors peddling their wares from street stalls and rolling carts laden with tasty culinary delights and Victorian-inspired crafts, clothing, jewelry, holiday decorations and gift items.
Children’s activities include a visit to the Royal Menagerie Petting Zoo, taking a ride on a pony and an elephant, playing in the “Snow on Sunday”, joining in the Scrooge’s Scavenger Hunt, hearing a storyteller, participating in a Backyard Circus and joining in the Puppet Parade as well as crafts and other projects.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the gate. A 2-day discount ticket will be available for $16 in advance and $20 on Saturday.
Children six years and younger and participants dressed in full Victorian costume will be admitted FREE!
For more information on Galveston Island, contact the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau toll-free at 888-GAL-ISLE (888-425-4753). The Galveston Island Visitor Information Center, operated by the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, is located at 2428 Seawall Blvd. and the Downtown Visitors Center is located at 2215 Strand, in Old Galveston Square.
