The 13th annual Carlyle Dickens Village Festival-held on December 4, 5 and 6- was made even more successful due to unseasonably high temperatures, according to members of the festival's organizing committee.
The guest book in the Carlyle Memorial Hall was signed by 757 visitors-from Vancouver, Thunder Bay, and Prince Edward Island, as well as communities from throughout Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The festival featured food, drink and free entertainment at Fezziwigs Family Pub in Carlyle Memorial Hall, High Tea and a bake sale in the United Church, Tiny Tim's Taster Tour hosted by local businesses, craft markets, free horse and carriage rides, Cornerstone Family and Youth's Festival of Trees, Breakfast with Santa hosted by the Carlyle RCMP detachment, a lighted parade each evening, food vendors and an original adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' by Cornerstone Theatre Company, as well as a childrens' version of the play.
The top three activities for visitors-according to a survey commissioned by the Dickens committee-were Friday and Saturday evening's lighted parades, the sold-out performances of Cornerstone Theatre Company's 'A Christmas Story: The Real Story,' and High Tea at the Carlyle United Church, which attracted a record-breaking 445 guests over two days.
“A few days before the weekend, we had to add a third space for our craft vendors, due to high demand, and even our horse and carriage rides ran for a little longer,” says Dickens committee chair, Shelley Slykhuis. “We've had added interest in the floats for our lighted parade, this year's production of 'A Christmas Carol' by Cornerstone Theatre was effectively sold out very early, and so much more.”
Dickens vendor coordinator Sandra Dyer says, “Vendor demand was up this year and not only did we have more vendors, but many of them were requesting two or three tables instead of just one.”
“We'd love to have them all under one roof,” adds Dyer. “But we couldn't fit them all into one space. We've had quite a mixture of local vendors as well as First Nations vendors-which is awesome- along with vendors from out of town.”
“We had a lot of interest this year and we started receiving vendor requests early in the summer,” says Dyer. “We give our returning vendors priority, but we ask that they get in touch with us after Homespun.”
The town-where temperatures reached a high of 10C- was once again transformed into a Victorian village, as businesses, service clubs, churches, schools and individuals dressed and decorated for the era; invoking the spirit of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' and marking the start of the Christmas season in the Town of Carlyle.
“I've been told that we're the only Dickens Festival in Canada,” says Dyer. “And we certainly go all out!”
“It's a great event for our town,” adds Dyer. “And people really get into it dressing up and making all of the events so much fun for themselves and for visitors to Dickens.”
Slykhuis agrees. “We had phone calls from people from out of province and this year, the 'Women on the Go' tours out of Regina brought buses to Dickens both days,” says Slykhuis. “Usually, they just come on the Friday, but a busload came on Saturday, too. They sold out quickly, so they told us they've added a van for the overflow.”
“That group alone brings us visitors from Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.”
“We've never had it this warm and we've never had this kind of interest before the weekend even got underway.”
Shiela Menard of Dickens Information and Hospitality Committee says, “I've been volunteering at Dickens since the start and I've never seen the temperature hit above five degrees,” she says.
“Our entertainment is always great and this year was no exception,” adds Menard. “We had Teagan Littlechief, Ken Hamm and always, The Happy Wanderers. And we also had Mark Humphries from Manitoba, magician Patrick Roth, (musician) Katie Miller from Carnduff and much more.”
“We had an amazing line-up this year,” adds Dyer.
Visitor Barb Kreics of Lampman says, “We've been here for Dickens four or five times. The weather this year made the drive so easy. But we've come during blizzards before. It's just a great time!”
“We couldn't do any of the things our visitors enjoy without our volunteers,” adds Slykhuis. “We've had all kinds of weather during the thirteen years of the Dickens Festival, but it's really our volunteers that make it happen. We count on them to keep it going.”
Town councillor Jenn Sedor agrees. “This is my favorite event of the year,” she says. “It makes Carlyle a unique place to live and it attracts a lot of tourists to the town. I'd really like to see it continue for a long time and we always welcome new volunteers.”
“We're always welcoming new volunteers and this year is no exception,” adds Slykhuis. “The time committment only begins in September. Anyone who is interested can call me at (306)-453-3334.
“We'd love to hear from them, so we can continue to make the Dickens Festival a success.”
Winners of the annual Dickens decorating competition are as follows:
Residential
Traditional: Bill and Lori Wyatt, south end of 6th Street West
Victorian: Shane and Romona Rushton, 128 5th Street West
Michelle and Austin Orsted, 132 6th Street West
Business
Traditional: Carlyle Bakery
Victorian: Carlyle Dairy Queen
Novelty: Stratus Vapor Shop
Parade winners are:
Friday:
First Place: Home Hardware/Gillis Construction
Second Place: Town of Carlyle
Third Place: Crescent Point Energy
Saturday:
First Place: Home Hardware/Gillis Construction
Second Place: Full Gospel Church
Third Place: Just Fur Paws Grooming
