Galveston is 4,900 miles and 150 years removed from the Victorian London of Charles Dickens, but the first weekend of each December, the Gulf of Mexico might as well be the Thames, as holiday revelers take over downtown for Dickens on the Strand. This year’s festival — marking the 37th time the Galveston Historical Foundation has hosted the event — features traditional fun such as parades, fake snow and vendors in hoopskirts and top hats. There’s even a lecture by Dickens’s great-great-great granddaughter for the literary sort. This year there are also several, er, variations — including contestants dressed as Queen Victoria racing through an obstacle course, street races by teams pushing fully dressed period beds, loads of steampunks (think a weird Johnny Depp character that’s part mechanical gadgets and part Dickens era-hippie), and a facial hair contest during which the hirsute can compete for Most Impressive Piccadilly Weepers and Finest Gatter Soaker (sideburns and mustache, for modern-day folk). 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Strand, Galveston Island. For information, call 409-765-7834 or visit www.galvestonhistory.org. $9 to $12.

Sat., Dec. 4, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 5, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2010

This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2010.