Celebrate the Holidays in Victorian Style
Walking past Victorian characters, performing artists, ice skaters and a live Nativity scene accompanied by the smell of holiday treats and the sounds of carolers is the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit.
Luckily, we know where you can find all of that in one night: Spartanburg’s Dickens of a Christmas celebration.
The 25th annual event is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 in Downtown Spartanburg. The annual highlight of the night is the lighting of the HUGE tree in Denny’s Plaza at 7:30 p.m.
“If someone has never been to Spartanburg’s annual Dickens of a Christmas, they are missing an event that allows them to step back in time about 150 years ago,” said Mandy Merck with the City of Spartanburg.
Show off your skills on the Skating on the Square ice rink, also open from Nov. 16-Jan. 21, before taking a stroll through Downtown Spartanburg, where you can enjoy some holiday goodies and visit with some of our favorite store owners and vendors.
Along the way, you’ll be greeted by dancers in store windows and musicians playing. Make sure you visit with the Victorian characters who will take you back in time to the era of Dickens. And the live Nativity scene will transport you back to a time even longer ago.
As you make your way toward Denny’s Plaza for the tree-lighting, you’ll surely be dreaming of chestnuts roasting by an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at your nose. We also understand if you’re really thinking of what you want to ask Santa for Christmas.
If you’ve been to Dickens of a Christmas before, we know we’ll see you again this year. We even hear there will be a surprise visit from Queen Victoria herself.
And if you haven’t been, come see what you’re missing.
“Of course, we want people to come for this unique festival, but we want the 10,000-plus people who come to the festival to see how wonderful downtown is today…in 2018,” Merck said. “If they haven’t been in a while, they are definitely going to be very surprised when they see new shops, new restaurants, new office spaces, and new places to live.
“We want people to shop in the festival Christmas Market that we have — and eat from the food vendors we’ve brought in — but we also want them to shop and eat from the downtown businesses. We want festival-goers to see all of these places, and come back!”
