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One of the year’s most highly anticipated events is coming this weekend – and with it, an opportunity to dress in Victoria-era costume and enjoy all kinds of activities and shopping! Today’s broadcast features Larry and Barbara Biddison who have been involved with Dickens for the past 31 years – from the very beginning! Home Page’s Sara Vogt met with them at the historic Penn Wells Hotel. The couple encouraged everyone to dress up and enjoy the day. By doing so “you take on a character, and then others come to talk with you and maybe even take your picture!” said Larry. More importantly, it is a way for you to meet new people and enjoy the day from a different experience.

“It was a joy to talk to Larry and Barbara about their involvement in our community, especially Dickens,” remarked Sara. “Larry gave me a paper that he had written in 2007 that helped me to understand the beginning of Dickens. I have included a small part of that letter for you to see his heart concerning Dickens:”

Exerpt taken from Dickens in the 25th year December 1, 2007 by Larry Biddison –
“A far cry from 1983, that first year, when a group of townspeople sat around a table wondering what they could do to make the pre-Christmas season more festive for our community. In the course of the discussion someone (reputedly Bob Williams) said, “I don’t know what we should do but, whatever we do, we ought to have a Dickens of a good time doing it!” Thus was born Wellsboro’s Dickens of a Christmas!
… I take great satisfaction in having been a Dickens Player since Year One. I am especially grateful for the community spirit that lifts my town out of the ordinary! I see it and feel it everywhere throughout the year—but nowhere as powerfully as right here on Dickens Day.
… And, for as successful as Dickens has been, I have a recurring dream about Dickens Day that would make it picture perfect. In it I see the quaint gas-lit streets of Wellsboro like a Victorian Christmas card. Snow is falling lightly and ALL the merry shoppers and strollers are colorfully attired in old-fashioned clothing—and there’s not a single Day-Glo garment in sight!”

If you are hesitant about wearing a costume, maybe you would prefer to don a festive hat for the occasion? Corrin Jones spoke with New York Hat designer, Christine Moore, at the Fifth Season about the hats she has made for Dickens over the past few years. Christine will be hosting a Trunk Show with the Fifth Season in the lobby of the Deane Center for the Performing Arts. Her “Dickens of a Christmas Collection” will be on display for the Dickens Festival on Friday and Saturday, December 5th and 6th in Wellsboro, PA.