Annual Charles Dickens Festival in Port Jefferson offers fun step back in time

The “P.T. Barnum” carried Santa Claus in a parade along East Main Street on Saturday as holiday tunes played to the cheerful crowd. The float of a Port Jefferson ferryboat featured a fitting name at the start of the 28th annual Charles Dickens Festival.

The two-day festival in Port Jefferson Village began Saturday as people roasted marshmallows, enjoyed the sound of Christmas carolers, built gingerbread houses, posed for photos in a giant inflatable snow globe and interacted with the Victorian era street characters who make the event unique.

“I was very surprised at the excitement that people had with costumes,” said Emily Fowler, a pastor at the nearby First Presbyterian Church. “That was the most exciting part. It’s like, it’s Christmas!”

Fowler, who previously had lived in Texas, dressed as a suffragist, a woman who fought for women’s right to vote in the early 20th century, as she served hot chocolate at the craft fair.

For many in the crowd, the festival has become an annual tradition. But each year it attracts newcomers like Fowler who are experiencing the thrill for the first time.

Village Mayor Lauren Sheprow said about 25,000 people were expected over the two days. Clear skies, albeit chilly temperatures, greeted visitors Saturday, a welcome reprieve after rain dampened portions of the festival the prior two years.

Sheprow said the Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council begins preparing for the festival in August and “puts on such a great program.”

“People volunteer and become actors for years on end,” she said.

George Overin is one example. He has been a staple at the festival since 1999.

He welcomed guests with a festive “Merry Christmas!’ while dressed as the character Oliver the Sweeper, complete with the dust and dirt all over his face and beard.

He said he was wearing his original coat along with an original shirt and he carried the broom he had found in the house he moved into years ago.

Getting into character takes about half an hour, he said. In the end, it’s always worth it, he said, particularly when he can lift the spirit of someone who may be struggling around the holidays.

“That short period of time, a weight is lifted off them and they feel happy,” he said. “You can’t beat that.”

The street characters marched in the opening parade to begin the festivities as the Amityville Highland Pipe Band provided the drumbeat.

At noon, dozens of festivalgoers gathered outside Castaways Steak and Seafood for a performance of “A Christmas Carol” — the timeless holiday classic of Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

“Christmas is a time of year for paying bills without any money, a time for finding yourself another year older and not a penny richer,” the coldhearted Scrooge said as the performance began.

Lisa Smith, of Lindenhurst, said she “just wanted to experience” the festival as she helped her 4-year-old son, Matthew, as he chowed on a burnt marshmallow toasted over the nearby fire.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said of her first time at the festival.

Mary and George Baldo, of Port Jefferson, estimated they have been attending the festival for at least 25 years.

“Having the Dickens characters mingling through the town makes it very nice,” George said. “And it puts people in a Christmassy spirit.”

Mary said the parade "never gets old."

The festival continues Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. and activities and performances run throughout the day. A closing ceremony takes place at 5:45 p.m. at Village Hall.

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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