Decision to kill off A Dickens Holiday in Fayetteville makes no sense

First, let me say that I appreciate all that the Fayetteville-Cumberland Arts Council has done to better our community through the arts.

Their partnership with the Downtown Alliance to co-produce A Dickens Holiday for 20 years was a rare and remarkable example of cooperation between two major community organizations. I was proud and honored to be a part of it for those 20 years.

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When Deborah Mintz, then director of the Arts Council, first sat down with me to sketch out some ideas for a holiday festival to be held downtown on the day after Thanksgiving, we had no idea it would prove to be so successful. It not only boosted downtown revitalization, it became the one day of the year when it felt like the whole city was one big, neighborly community.

The period costumes, roving musicians, the big horse-drawn Dickens wagon, and the hot cider and gingerbread were magical! It was a great way to show off our city and it attracted thousands of visitors from all over eastern North Carolina and many folks from out of state.

More: FROM THE ARCHIVES: A Dickens Holiday through the years

I was surprised and disappointed when I learned that the Arts Council had decided to “retire” A Dickens Holiday. I had no input whatsoever in that decision and was informed only last week after it was already a done deal.

The given reason — that the event was not “inclusive” — makes no sense to me. The event is based entirely on “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, a book whose message is all about “inclusiveness,” about tolerance and love of all fellow human beings.

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Fayetteville’s A Dickens Holiday was the embodiment of that message acted out in real time on the brick-paved streets of Historic Downtown, where everyone was welcome to come and celebrate the beginning of the holiday season. After the announcement, I went back and looked through the pictures saved in my computer.

Talk about “inclusiveness!” So many of the group photos include people of color having fun shopping and enjoying the carriage rides, wearing beautiful costumes like you would have seen in Victorian England, performing as musicians and singers, and selling their crafts in gaily decorated booths.

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In a recent newspaper article, the Mayor said: “We support festivals, we emphasize the importance of having more entertainment and diversity of entertainment.” (The Fayetteville Observer, Aug.17, 2022). Many of Fayetteville’s events do appeal to a broad swath of people. Point is, we need a variety of events because different people like different things and no single festival or event can be all things to all people. And it is the unique events like Dickens that are the most memorable.

But do you want to know what is really sad? A Dickens Holiday actually did come close to being “all things to all people!” And so it is that the Arts Council’s decision appears even more illogical and misguided. It is a loss that the whole community will feel come Thanksgiving.

Hank Parfitt is a retired physician and a downtown business owner. He is one of the founders of A Dickens Holiday.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Decision to kill off A Dickens Holiday in Fayetteville makes no sense