by Noella Noelophile®
Charles Dickens (P.D. Soinski) becomes Scrooge during the Dickens Holiday Celebration
@ The International printing Museum Sat. Dec. 8th 2018 (Photo courtesy of Jim Whobrey, ©2018, and used with permission.)
Next Saturday, in Southern California, “Mr. Dickens” will be awaiting you.
As will The Pickwick Papers’ “Nathaniel Winkle”–though his appearance may prove a little “shocking”.
You’ll also get to meet “Miss Havisham” and “Estella”, from Great Expectations. But be warned: they won’t exactly welcome the gentlemen in attendance.
Holiday music courtesy of the Dickens musicians Capt. Jack (Jack Conway), Father Christmas (George Bush), Steerforth (Mark Barbour), Miss Peggotty (Debbie Bush) and Forester (Gary Remson) will serenade guests as they lunch in Victoria’s Tea Garden during the “Dickens Holiday Celebration” @ The International Printing Museum Sat. Dec. 8 2018 in Carson, CA (Photo courtesy of Jim Whobrey, ©2018, and used with permission.)
And of course, “Captain Jack” will join in some sweet harmonies with “Lucy Mannette” and “Steerforth”, on 1895-style Christmas carols.
It’s all going to be a part of the annual “Dickens Holiday Celebration”, at the International Printing Museum in Carson!
The museum will be transformed into a festive warehouse which might well have delighted old Fezziwig, with Victorian decorations and lampposts. Visitors get to take mini-tours of the museum’s array of working antique printing presses.
Miss Pross (Marjorie Wilser) from Dickens “Tale of Two Cities” assists guests in printing their own Holiday card on an 1860 Parlor press during the “Dickens Holiday Celebration”@The International Printing Museum Dec. 8th 2018 in Carson, CA. (Photo courtesy of Jim Whobrey, ©2018, and used with permission.)
In addition, the guests can print their own Victorian cards and gift tags on a 19th-century press, as their great-grandparents may well have done, during Christmases of yesteryear!
A Victorian “Holiday Lunch” of bangers, gingerbread and punch will be served as “Captain Jack” serenades you on his 1895 Player Organ. Accompanying him will be Tale of Two Cities’ “Lucy Mannette”, on guitar, and David Copperfield’s “Steerforth”, on dulcimer.
But the centerpiece of the entertainment will be a chance to meet, and maybe even work with, the “author”.
“Charles Dickens” will be present to do three readings of his classic A Christmas Carol. But he’ll be changing up his presentation, from lecture to interactive show–using audience members as part of the cast of his classic Christmas story.
Fagin (Ken Riedel) & the Artful Dodger (Keefer Blakeslee) from Dicken’s Oliver Twist are up to no good @The International Printing Museum’s “Dickens Holiday Celebration” Sat. Dec.8 2018 in Carson, CA (Photo courtesy of Jim Whobrey, ©2018, and used with permission.)
One word of warning, though: watch out for “Fagin” and “The Artful Dodger”.
These lovable Oliver Twist characters will be there as well, and Fagin may see fit to use “yer pocket” as a tutorial for his young protegee, in the art of sleight of hand!
Admission to this special Christmas event is $25 per person, and includes lunch, tours and activities. There’s also a “group rate” for groups of up to four modern-day Dickensians. You’re encouraged to “dress Victorian” to attend, both because it’s fun and because you may just wind up with a special gift for someone on your Christmas list.
That’s because a previous favorite, Bailey-Denton Photography, are returning this year. They’re Southern California’s premier historical photography studio. Their specialty: wet-plate photography, which was the cutting-edge technology in Dickens’ era! So if you’d like to take a “tin-type” Victorian photograph of yourself, your family or friends, they can oblige. Don’t have Victorian dress? They have some costume elements on hand!
Be sure to reserve a time for “Mr. Dickens'” reading, as these tend to fill up fast! He’ll be giving performances at 11:00 am, and 3:00 pm. (His 1:00 show has already sold out!) The show is advised for children ages 10 and up, accompanied by adults. You can reserve seats here.
Meanwhile, here’s one more Christmas treat.
For the first time, at this year’s Dickens Holiday Celebration, you get to meet “The Poet of Fleet Street”, Jacob Depraecht! Jacob’s going to be composing customized poems for guests, and he’ll come up with one just for you!