Dickens On Centre

December 11-14, 2025                                            Most Recent Posts:
Fort Clinch State Park                                      The Week Between
Fernandina Beach,               19th Annual Amelia Island Holiday Home Tour
Florida

I’ve arranged my last two months of traveling in order to be here for this event and it was definitely worth it.  If you are ever in the area in mid December definitely do this Victorian Holiday Christmas Market and Festival especially the night when Jason Woods is doing his one man presentation of A Christmas Carol.    But I’m getting ahead of myself.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 11
DICKENS ILLUMINATED PROCESSION

This huge (well used)  program for the week-end (11”x 17”) is folded and printed back and front for 4 giant pages of information and times and even a map.

For the Procession everyone is invited to bring something that twinkles, sparkles or glows and put on their favorite Victorian attire to kick of the Festival with the 6th Annual Illuminated Procession. 

Since the main sections of the center of Fernandina Beach are blocked off for perhaps 6 square blocks, they provide a trolley.  You park your car in the large parking lot at the far end of town and are trolleyed (is that a word?) down to 4th street.  The Trolley runs every 15 mins for an hour before things start until a half hour after the events each day.  Because it was still daylight when I caught it on Thursday, you can’t see that it is decked out in lights.

You can see the inside decorations complete with my camera’s inability to take nonglare pictures of lights.

The problem with taking pictures of lights happens with my canon and both my phones.  But you get the gist here that the town is really decked out.  It’s gorgeous with lights all along the buildings and in all the trees and their trunks.

The procession starts at Front and Center Streets (appropriate) at the lighted town Christmas Tree and moves through 3 or 4 blocks of the historic town until it concludes at 6:45 with an illuminated finale over the riverfront.   There was no organizing that I could see.  Folks just milled around and then knew to gather behind the banner and head on at 6pm.

Gathering

Milling

Doesn’t the girl look like a chimney sweep?

Not everyone was in costume including me.   But we all had lanterns.

This was my favorite costume of all……do you recognize Jacob Marley with his chains of cash boxes and his glasses.

As you can see, everyone was carrying a lantern.  I wondered where they got them and one person said The Dollar Tree.  LOL!!   I also wondered how these ladies put together such great outfits for this procession.

And then folks started walking.   Lanterns came in all sizes.

When I put this post together I noticed that this woman showed up in several pictures I’d taken to get the people beside or behind her.

Not sure what the Jacksonville Pipe and Drum corps has to do with Victorian Dickens but I always love hearing bagpipes and it gave the procession something to process to.   If you’d like to hear the bagpipes and see the video for yourself, here is a one minute look at it.  Use this link.

The walk began and ended at the town’s lighted tree.

After taking pictures of some of the participants, I walked back toward the tree to see the beginning with its official banner as they came to the end.

Sorry for the way my cameras take pictures after dark.

I loved this guy who seems to have just put on a bathrobe and fashioned a nightcap.  Wish he’d done something different with his shoes.

Could these be ladies of the evening waiting with the pirate outside the saloon.  There were pirates down by the docks and riverfront pubs in London in Dicken’s time 1812-1870.

One of the streets had been turned into a food court with a number of vendors providing surprisingly good food.

To close the first night, over the river front,  they had a drone light show which I don’t think  I’d never seen or heard of but I did miss the booms of normal fireworks.   This was another thing my camera had trouble with.  If anyone has any idea what I could do about this, please let me know.  

Stores were open of course and I thought my favorite looked very fine all lit up.

It was wonderful seeing all these “19th Century” folks walking the streets.  If I come again, I want to come in costume.  Any ideas for where to obtain somethings at a reasonable price?

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12
DAY 1   DICKENS ON CENTRE

After the Thursday night kick off the festival proper began Friday from 5-9 pm, continued all day Saturday 8:30am to 10pm and ended Sunday  from 10am-3pm with events all over town, all the time and overlapping.  Thus the  huge 11”x17” schedule shown at the top of this post.    There are two main stages for music and theater events and an outdoor screen for movies called Old Vic Theater just to name a few.

Again, I parked at the lot but this time I walked the 10+ blocks down to the festivities.

I got there just as things started at 5:00 and the Navy Band Wind Ensemble took the stage at the largest venue called the Wharf Stage just in front of the lighted tree, railroad tracks and river front.  At one time in my life, I had played the clarinet in the marching band and the oboe in the symphonic band, so I do appreciate the “winds”

The Official Opening Ceremony took place at 5:45 on the Wharf Stage with Santa Claus of course and then a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas

From there I wandered around seeing what else was part of this party.

I’d heard about “The Enchanted Village” described as ten festive life size snow globes each decorated in a unique Holiday theme.  They accommodate up to six people and the cost to rent one for 75 minutes includes adult beverages, savory or sweet snack bites, add ons include a mimosa yogurt parfait or charcuterie board.  I’ve forgotten the price at this point but it was WAY beyond my means as a single though I would for sure have sprung for it if I had 5 other people to split the cost.  Let me know if you want to plan this with me for another year.

The Portly Gentleman Tavern is right next door to the Enchanted Village if you want a glass of any sort of spirits and were unable to get a reservation in the snow globes which I understand were sold out very early.  The Globes run all night Friday, all day Saturday and on Sunday too at 75 minute intervals. Didn’t get a picture of The Portly Gentleman Tavern or of Fezziwig’s Courtyard another spot offering beer, wine and specialty holiday beverages.   Love the names

I wandered around looking at the vendors, many of whom were in costume.  I’ll do some more of this tomorrow.

I ended up at the food truck area for dinner.

Absolutely delicious tacos and fresh hot chips and salsa.

After that, I hustled over to the Wharf Stage to get a close up seat for what I was told at the Visitor Center was THE most amazing performance of  Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It turned out to be that and more. 

Jason Woods plays over 25 different characters from Scrooge to Tiny Tim, the Ghosts, Jacob Marley, the Nephew and….well you know the story.

It was absolutely amazing and such an immersive experience I took only 3 pictures.

Woods walked through the center of the audience at points so his voice was close to you, in front of you, behind you.   He was on the stage at other points.  His only props were a lantern and a lectern

At the end of the performance the audience gave him a lengthly well deserved standing ovation.  If you ever have the chance to see him do this one man show,  DO NOT MISS IT!!

Afterwards the audience came up to talk to a smiling, sweating and no doubt very tired Jason Woods.   I can’t believe I saw this for free.

Friday evening closed with another light show.  My pictures were somewhat better.

Fernandina Beach was a railroad town.  The tracks are between the stage and the water.  So this train of lights appears to be going right down the tracks.

As is St. Nick

I’m way over the top impressed with the 11th Annual Dickens on Centre.  Happily there is more tomorrow and Sunday.   That’s for my next post.