Parfitt: A Dickens Holiday continues tradition in downtown Fayetteville

A Dickens Holiday is back!

Hosted by the Downtown Alliance and the Fayetteville History Museum at “Franklin Square,” where the Victorian-era train station served as a fitting backdrop, this time-honored tradition was attended by a diverse crowd that numbered in the thousands. And in the spirit of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” it was a joyous crowd greeting each other and expressing goodwill towards one another all day long.

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Like any good event, the public seldom sees all the hard work that goes into its making. My purpose in writing this is to shine a little light on some of the folks who did the work on this beloved downtown event. And I do so not in any official capacity, but merely as a citizen who has long believed in our downtown’s future.

Elaine Kelley, an Alliance board member, and owner of Turner Lane, called me soon after my opinion piece in the Aug. 28 Fayetteville Observer, in which I questioned the Arts Council’s decision to cancel A Dickens Holiday. Her board had voted to do Dickens themselves!

She asked if I would help, since I had been a part of the event since its founding. I told her I would, but it seemed impossible! After all, we had less than 90 days for an event that is normally 10 months in the planning. In our favor, the Alliance had co-hosted it for its first 20 years and most of our volunteers were still around.

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We agreed that she should chair the event and that I would round up the volunteers and sponsors and track down the popular performers from past years.

Downtown Alliance leaders — Elaine, Robin Matthews, Molly Arnold — and the History Museum’s Heidi Bleazey and Emily Sussman, rolled up their sleeves and showed what leadership is all about. Perhaps it is no coincidence that so many of the successful downtown businesses are woman-owned and operated!

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Elaine Kelley especially deserves a big shoutout, even though she has resolutely refused any recognition. She worked on Dickens with uncommon passion and energy, even closing her business at times to devote a whole day to contacting vendors and performers and city departments.

Elaine assembled a team of marketers, headed up by Betsy McElwee. She was on the ground as “Central Command” during the event itself. Without Elaine, we would not have had A Dickens Holiday this year. Period.

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And the volunteers! Their importance to an event with so many moving parts is paramount. If you were downtown on the day after Thanksgiving, much that you saw and enjoyed was the work of volunteers. They served as the London Bobbies; the poor street urchins selling flowers; and as the “coachman’s assistants” on the carriage rides (Thank you, Scouts from Troop 747!) They included the English Country Dancers; the musical entertainments by the Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Sinfonietta; the Cross Creek Pipes and Drums; Father Christmas; and even Queen Victoria herself.

I cannot possibly name them all! And there were innumerable people who worked behind the scenes, like the folks from the Salvation Army manning the hospitality room for volunteers and performers. Volunteers even helped decorate the train station and surrounding grounds on the day before Thanksgiving.

Eighteen — that’s 18 — very generous sponsors gave the Downtown Alliance the financial wherewithal to stage such an event. The Alliance is an all-volunteer association of downtown merchants, property owners and residents, and receives no funding from the city or county or any government agency.

When asked, each and every sponsor said without hesitation, “Yes” and “How much do you need?” Take a look at the Alliance website, www.faydta.com, to see the list of sponsors. Please patronize their places of business if you can and give them a big “Thank You” when you see them. While online, look at the Alliance’s Facebook page to see some amazing pictures from Dickens.

So yes, A Dickens Holiday is back! The marvelous sights and sounds, the diverse crowds and performers, and the fun and relaxed shopping were all there. It is still exactly what its founders — the Arts Council and the Downtown Alliance — imagined it to be 23 years ago. The Arts Council should be proud of what it started. It is my hope that the Downtown Alliance will continue the tradition.

Now, in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us every one!”

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: Parfitt: A Dickens Holiday continues tradition in downtown Fayetteville