The Festival

...The festival? The festival?  The King's Festival?...

And I digress already.

I've been kind of too busy doing Dickens to remember to mention Dickens.  But here's the details and my suggestions:

The Dickens Festival is open from Friday, December 7th to Saturday, December 15th.  Admission is only $6 for adults and $4 for children/seniors.  With the price of your admission you get to:

• Visit the booths of TONS of unique vendors (Christmas Shopping!!)
• Stop by Mr. Bumble's Buns (delicious cinnamon rolls generally located across from the main stage)
• Interact with famous Dickens characters, and maybe even Mr. Charles Dickens himself
• Enjoy free entertainment by local dance and performance groups 
• Get photos taken with Father Christmas (extra charge)

And {most importantly} for only the price of admission, you get to come see both of the awesome shows I've been working on.

Evenings at 5:40 = OLIVER (featuring my kids as Orphans and my dad as Mr. Bumble)

Evenings at 8:00 = SCROOGE (featuring my dad as Marley)

There are also matinee performances on Saturdays.  You can catch OLIVER at 1:00 and SCROOGE at 3:00.  

"But I've come before.  Why should I come again?"

• It's a great family tradition, and there's so much more to do than just see the shows.  Plus we've added a few fun features to the shows this year.  Trust me... you don't want to miss Charlie in Oom Pah Pah.
• More seating!  That's right, folks... the fair park has extended our audience.  If you didn't get a seat last year, come a bit early for the show and see if your standing ovation can be optional this year.

"When should I come?"

Well, we've never done weekday performances, so I'm not entirely certain what to expect.  But here's my best guess.

• The matinee shows have less effective lighting.  But they are great for kids who don't want to stay up that late.  If you're going to hit a matinee, I'd suggest maybe doing the 3:00 pm Scrooge, heading over to the food court for some dinner, and then hanging around for the 5:40 Oliver.
• If you want to avoid the crowds, try the Tuesday or Wednesday shows.  My prediction is that there will be more available seating.
• SCROOGE DOESN'T PERFORM ON THURSDAY.  Just sayin'.

I hope to see lots of friends and family at the festival this year!