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Monday, December 12, 2011
A Dickens of a Christmas... and a Dickens of a Blog Entry
Current Mood: Currently Listening to: Nothing right now
This month marks the second year that Steve and I have lived in Williamson County in Tennesssee. We often talk about how much we love living here, and I've always wondered how I could best describe why. Turns out I don't have to. The video below explains it well.
As you're watching, notice the shots of downtown Franklin--the Main Street USA looking place--because it preps you for what I'll be talking about next :-).
For the last 25 years Franklin has held a tradition that Steve and I had an opportunity to participate in last weekend: the Dickens of a Christmas street festival. Every second weekend of December, downtown Franklin takes you back to Victorian times as shopowners, theater groups and volunteers dress up in period costume, with some roaming the streets as characters from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and the musical "Oliver".
Steve and I went to the festival on Sunday, when it was scheduled to run from noon to 5pm. We decided it would be a good idea get there early so we can get a parking spot at the only parking garage in the immediate area. We got there at around 11:30, which apparently was just in the nick of time... the only parking slots left in the 4-level parking garage were on the top floor.
There were already people milling around in the streets
As we headed towards the public square, I kept telling Steve how much it felt like walking down Main Street USA at a Disney theme park... but what I loved was that these buildings weren't props...they were real. That's not a prop sign, a real lawyer works there :-).
At the public square, I came across my first people in Victorian garb by the Festival Headquarters tent.
I was a little shy to ask if I could have my picture taken with them, but they were very nice and welcoming :-).
And then I heard... "Christmas Cahds! GET yer Christmas cahds 'ere!"
I turned to look and there was a young man walking around selling Charles Dickens Christmas cards...and he was selling them with a cockney accent. "Merry Chrismus!" He was telling passersby. "GET yer Christmas cahds 'ere!"
I was tickled pink--I absolutey loved how some people were in character, truly game to play :-).
I asked Steve for $5 (what he was selling the cards for) and quickly walked after him.
"Excuse me," I said.
He turned. "'allo there," he said, smiling.
I smiled back and said, "I'll make a deal with you. I'll buy one of your Christmas cards if you pose for a picture with me."
He nodded, grinning. "Oi can do tha'. Tha' sounds like a real good deal."
I was dressed in a red leather jacket and jeans for a reason :-). I fished around in my purse. "Okay I need you to look at this like it's the strangest thing you've ever seen." I barely finished my sentence when he noticed what I had in my hand.
"OOOHHH!!!" he yelled, laughing and throwing his arms up in the air. He suddenly gave me a big hug. "That's the 10th doctor's sonic screwdriver!" he exclaimed. "Yes it is!" I laughed, because not only did he know that it was a sonic screwdriver, he specifically knew WHICH one it was. And at this point, he had totally broken character :-).
It was really easy to pose for the picture after that :-).
One of Steve's favorite stores in downtown Franklin is Franklin Tea (www.franklintea.com), so we stopped by so he could pick up a few teas. The ladies behind the counter were very nice and were also dressed in Victorian garb for the festival. They did admit that they couldn't really wear a full bustle since it would make it tough to move around the shop, but their dresses still looked lovely. Ladies in Victorian wear, in a tea shop...the whole scene reminded me of Mary Poppins :-). Steve bought two new tea varieties, and I got a cup of tea to help myself keep warm while we walked the streets. I asked for something English... it seemed only fitting :-).
As Steve was ordering his tea, I recognized Fagin from Oliver walking outside. I didn't get out of the store in time and was only able to get a picture of him walking away.
I did, however, get some great shots of a man riding a penny-farthing bicycle as well as some other people in period dress.
Walking back to the square, we ran into Ebeneezer Scrooge. This is the happy Scrooge now, because at last night's Christmas Carol show at the Franklin Theater he'd already been visited by the Christmas ghosts :-). He spoke with a British accent, too--all the characters that we met from A Christmas Carol and Oliver were playing their roles wonderfully.
Yes, those muttonchops are real :-).
One of the things we really enjoyed were the street performers. Many of them were children, and they even more adorable because they were dressed up Victorian style as well.
At the public square we ran into a couple of bobbies (who are actually real Franklin police officers) who were very obliging when I asked for a picture :-).
We also came across the ghosts of Christmases past and present :-).
And I FINALLY got my picture taken with Fagin :-).
Steve didn't quite know who he was until we were walking away. When I told him he was Fagin from Oliver, he said, "Check your pockets :-)."
Here are some other pictures we took at the festival:
Steve in front of the tree at the public square
There were lots of people in downtown Franklin by this time.
Carriage rides were $2.
One of the many historical houses in downtown Franklin. This lovely home is a wedding venue.
You know it's an awesome festival when dogs are welcome :-)
We also came across a store that sold sugar plums. "I've never had a sugar plum," I said, and Steve handed me some money so I could taste a classic Victorian treat and know what it meant for children to have visions of sugar plums dance in their heads.
Another highlight of our day was listening to the Clearview Baptist Church Handbell Choir. I've never heard a handbell choir before, and I didn't know what it was going to sound like. Part of me thought it was either going to sound like a chorus of bicycle bells, or it was going to sound as imposing as big cathedral bells.
I was wrong. I didn't realize bells could sound elegant and comforting, and I had to keep myself from choking up a few times while they played "Ding Dong Merrily on High."
I was so hoping they'd play Carol of the Bells, and they did. It sounded awesome :-).
The rest of the day was spent eating :-). I had freshly made apple fritters while Steve had tamales. On the way back to the parking garage the Roasted Chestnuts stand had opened, so naturally I had to get some chestnuts for myself. Steve's not a big chestnut fan though :-).
Steve and I had a wonderful time, and said that from now on, if my travels to Manila permit it, we'll go every year :-). We're already planning to dress up a little more for it next year. He's thinking of getting a Victorian top hat for himself :-).
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