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Giveaway! The Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party

November 22nd through December 21st!

By Sponsored Content November 20, 2014
The Dickens Christmas Fair has been in the Bay Area since 1970 and is a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday season! A one-of-a-kind holiday adventure into Victorian London - an elaborate party with hundreds of costumed players performing and interacting with patrons in over 120,000 square feet of theatrically-lit music halls, pubs, dance floors and Christmas shops. It's a twilight eventing in Charles Dickens' London Town - a city of winding lanes filled with colorful characters from both literature and history. Enticing aromas of roasted chestnuts and hearty foods fill the air. Cries of street vendors hawking their wares ring out above the bustling crowd. Dozens of lamplit shops are filled to overflowing with Christmas gifts.

Details:
  • Cow Palace Exhibition Halls ~ 2600 Geneva Ave., Daly City
  • Five weekends including the Friday after Thanksgiving (November 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 201; 10am-7pm)
  • Children under 5 are FREE ~ Ticket prices vary

A Children's Tour through Dickens' London

It is winter! The holiday season has come to the most exciting city of all in England. Welcome to the London of Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria, where one will find amusements and diversions at every turn! As you enter, look to your left and see that Fezziwig's Warehouse is hosting a party for all of Mr. Fezziwig's friends - and everyone is a friend to Mr. Fezziwig! Care for a dance? Join in! Learn to dance and play parlour games or just watch the fun.

Begin your tour and turn right, away from Fezziwig's and pass down the magnificent Grand Concourse where you'll see our spectacular Christmas tree. Just opposite that the famed London Telegraph Office operates; here you can send a telegram to anyone in all of London and telegraph girls or boys will run from one end of the city to the other to hand-deliver your message! Continue down the lane and stop by Mrs. Piper's Photo Parlour to pose for a portrait of family and friends. Across the way, you can marvel at the hand-painted tiles at The Curious Wonder Cabinet; have a gift ornament customized at the Ornaments by Eddy cart; or peruse the magic wants at the Whirlwood Wants shop.

Passing through the Grenadiers Gate takes you to the dark and notorious London Docks where you will find the Paddy West School of Seamanship. Try your hand at knot-making, be hoisted up into the rigging by a helpful sailor, and enjoy the lively shows on the Paddy West Stage. But mind your wallet! Fagin's Den is nearby, and his light-fingered army of pickpockets, led by the Artful Dodger himself, may try to lift your valuables!

Continue your wander past the Docks and into Maiden Lane and Ale House Alley where jewelry sparkles, exotic scents fill your nose and hands and all manner of clothing abound. Next, move on to the sign of the Pale Moon beneath the great green clock, where you can pick your own baubles to make a necklace or earrings as a gift for yourself or someone you love. Or visit Peekaboo Masks for a mask that suits your fancy. 

You really must not miss a bag of fresh, hot Cinnamon Almonds - they are simply the tops! - from the almond cart as you head past Mad Sal's Alehouse Theatre (Not for Children) and proceed on into the Golden Square.

In Golden Square you will often encounter all manner of exotic musicians and dancers from all over Europe, eager to share their musical heritage! Here parents can warm themselves with a hot cup of coffee from Mr. Brown's Coffee House. But the real treasure you may find in Golden Square is Mr. Charles Dickens himself! The Dickens Family Parlour is there filled with his large, rambunctious family and oft times Mr. Dickens can be seen heading the family dinner table. Take a peek and compare his dinners to your own family dinners!

Mr. Dickens' neighborhood down Nickelby Road is an auspicious place indeed. Find the royal Adventurers Club where notables like His Royal Highness Prince Albert, or the writer Rudyard Kipling and artist Christina Rossetti reside, making plans for an upcoming adventure. Here you will also find Amsbury Ceramincs where you can put together your own necklace or bracelet from handmade beads, then hurry across the lane to the Bramosia Chocolates cart for handmade chocolate delights! In Petticoat Lane, have your hair braided at Adorn Thy Hair.

Just beyond the chocolate cart, at the men's haberdashery, turn right through the narrow doorway into Cratchit's Yard where Dickens' most famous character resides. Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge and the many Ghosts of Christmas will be found there upon The Christmas Carol Stage, as well as Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley and Bob Cratchit. Next door to the stage, the Corinthian Rose Fencing Academy provides the finest tutoring in Swordsmanship for aspiring soldiers of the realm. Stop by Nana's Nursery for beautifully crafted, American-made reproductions for all the children in your discerning Victorian family.

On nearby Fish Street you can feast on traditional British Fish & Chips while you observe the spectacular plans for the Crystal Palace Exhibition on display. Don't miss Hollyberry Park next door to the exhibit, with shops for dolls and fairy houses. Just to your right at the entrance of the Park is our new Silhouette artist who can cut your likeness out of paper in less than 5 minutes. Best of all, relax and share a refreshing pot of tea with the family at Cuthbert's Tea Shoppe; here you may have peanut butter and honey sandwiches or scones, and hot chocolate if you've been especially good!

Now head straight back down Fish Street, right the way through until you land in Fagin's Den back in the London Docks. Here you will find Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger making full-time work of picking pockets and snatching hankies. Nearby Peeler's Clink Jail will hold you or any thieves caught by Her Majesty's Royal Constabulary - get locked in and take a photo.

Push on! Your tour is nearing the greatest point! Into Tinsley Green, where Father Christmas makes his appearance and poses for pictures on the Father Christmas Stage at 1:00 daily. Create a gift by painting your own ceramic ornament at the Children's Painting Garden. Next door is the Punch & Judy Puppet Theatre. (Don't encourage Mr. Punch; he'll get into enough trouble all on his own.) Have some Mr. Punch's Pasta and enjoy lunch while you watch a show. Here you will also find fun with the Booth the Cat game; flip a chimney sweep into a chimney at Flip a Sweep; then pelt terribly performers with vegetables at Footlight Fiasco. See the spectacular Adventure Carousel and take a ride on your favorite animal. Do not miss Professor Flockmocker's Laboratory of mechanical wonders, to see if the flying machine is ready!

Nearing your final destinations! Jog your merry way into Pickwick Place, where you will find more eateries. Across the way, try your hand at the miraculous mechanical Candy Machine, where everyone wins a prize! Down Bellringer's Row you will find freshly baked warm cookies at Maclaren's Cookies & Milk and Nuyens Portraits, where you can pause to be skillfully sketched. Next door don't miss the production of Pinocchio at the Victoria & Albert Theatre - enjoy a box of freshly-popped popcorn, and take any seat! After the show, stop by the authentic Printing Press located nearby and try your hand at typesetting. 

You are once again near the entrance to the city, but you'll probably want to retrace your steps to visit whatever you missed on the first go 'round!

Get your tickets to the date of your choice now! And Macaroni Kid Fremont has a family four pack of tickets to giveaway!! It's easy to enter:

  • Complete this REQUIRED FORM for one entry (ONE time per person)
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  • "Like" this article, just because!
  • You MUST be a subscriber to enter (it's FREE) www.fremont.macaronikid.com/subscribe/
Official Rules can be found here!