Before moving to Carlyle in April I had visited the area once before, my dad and I went snowmobiling on the groomed trails at Kenosee. This was about five years ago and I had no idea what Dickens was at this time. I only found out about it once I accepted the position at the paper here.
My sister's friend was the first to explain it is a very exciting time for the town. She grew up in southeast Saskatchewan and had been to the festival before. She proceeded to explain what it was and how the entire town seemingly got into the spirit by dressing up in Victorian costumes, embodying the era when Dickens was alive.
She was particularly sure to point out the young kids who dressed up and how cute they were. How they basically dressed up like Oliver Twist going around begging for money with little tin cans and their faces all covered in dirt or soot.
I was quite intrigued as she spoke about the festival. She had fond memories and I was excited to experience the festivities myself.
Now I can say I have. Covering it for the paper I was able to get to almost every event, though sadly I did miss a few. There was just so much going on it was somewhat hard to keep up with it all, but what I was able to make it to was absolutely phenomenal.
My sister's friend was right, almost the entire town came together to fundraise money for their various causes. The Lions, the Fire Department, the Pool Committee and so many more were all involved in raising money for their respective causes. It was absolutely wonderful to see.
Having now experienced my first Dickens I am pleased to say my sister's friend was correct, it's a fun time to get into the Christmas spirit. With Christmas tunes playing downtown from Ron's Work Wear Store and carriage rides being given, it was quite the winter wonderland out there. People still came despite the terribly icy roads and sidewalks thanks to a freezing rain on Friday night.
I thoroughly enjoyed walking around and getting to visit with a number of different people who were enjoying themselves as well.
My utmost favourite part of the festival though was the food. It's always fun to try other people's recipes and enjoy something you don't usually make, such as the Fire Department's turkey legs which I was told were the best in town.
I was only able to try a few different things because it was all so delicious and filling, but I had really wanted to test it all out. My one problem was I had corn chowder from the Chowder Shack on the Friday, which was so good I absolutely had to go back and see Shelly Slykhuis on Saturday for another cup. In fact I almost told her if she had extras after the festival I know who would be more than happy to help her out with them, me. I didn't, but as I sit here writing this do I ever wish I had.
The Cornerstone Theatre production of "A Christmas Carol" was quite enjoyable and I was happy to be seated near a couple of wonderful families I got to visit with during the intermission, including one of the girl's from the rookie girls volleyball team I helped out with.
Overall my first ever Dickens experience was definitely a positive one, which I would recommend to anyone. It's a fun way to get into the holiday spirit, having actually inspired me to wrap my Christmas gifts that same weekend.
It was a great amount of fun and when asked by friends if I had covered anything really interesting lately, I happily told them about Dickens. Some were even offended I neglected to invite them down for the weekend.
