Dickens on the Strand

Last year, Dickens on the Strand, Galveston’s Victorian-themed holiday festival, was “set” in 1862, the year London hosted the annual World’s Fair (the only occasion the peoples of the globe came together back then unless there was a war) so that performers and re-enactors of every country and culture could partake. This year, it’s back to being all British, baby. Hey, multiculturalism is great, but so is tradition, and the Galveston Historical Foundation and their cohorts are stocking the island’s ten-block historical district of Victorian homes with costumed choirs, carolers, musicians, bagpipers (we’re putting “bag-pipers” in a different classification than “musicians”) and vendors selling antique-looking keepsakes, era-inspired crafts and food as close to what was eaten by a typical 19th-century Briton as modern FDA regulations will allow. It’ll have all the merriment and wonder Charles Dickens might have enjoyed if he hadn’t been — at various points in his life — poor, grumpy and/or preoccupied with work. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. The Strand district, Galveston Island. For tickets and a list of events, call 409-765-7834 or visit www.dickenson-the-strand.org. $4 to $9.
Sat., Dec. 1, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2007