The Dickens Festival in Riverside

Inoculated with healthy doses of intellectualism, academics, and music, this festival is indeed a delight! Yes, there is even the small parade of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria and her court. The parade includes fine gentlemen and ladies, a chimney sweep, a properly-kilted Scotsman playing his bagpipes, and another Scotsman that has to be at least 10 feet tall. Too bad they only do it one weekend each year. You will discover well-delivered lectures by 19th Century impersonators of notable people (such as Dickens, Van Gough, Emily Dickens for starters), imaginatively anachronistic storytellers (you cannot miss the zany Professor Peanut!), poetry lovers, and a wonderful collection of musicians.The Promenade in downtown Riverside, once known as Main St., is actually no longer a street at all. Instead, you will find a broad, public walkway lined with small and medium sized storefronts, graceful shade trees, benches to stop and breathe a spell, special water features, sculptures, and entertainment. The eye-catching historic Mission Inn, a glorious testament to old California architecture, is located about a block down from this delightful activity. This is all part of a permanent Downtown City of Riverside transformation. But during the festival, the walkway is infused with food vendors and retail booths, street entertainers, and strategically positioned stages scheduled with well-organized programs, so there is never a dull moment. Very ADA compliant, you will find little something for everyone...even friendly vibes if you wish to bring the family dog. For the kids (of the human variety), there was a goat petting tent. But later, we saw their appropriately 19th Century-garbed caretakers rambling down the promenade, mingling with the crowds. There are an eclectic list of street musicians to amuse, a Punch and Judy puppet theater to captivate your inner-child, and other regularly scheduled events (indoors and out, some free, some requiring tickets). The point is, slow down, allow yourself to be distracted, and absorb the full experience. Don't feel intimidated that this is only for the artsy types; costumes are fun but not necessary to have delightful memories. So, whatever your preference, come one, come all. Best of all, with the exception of having to pay for parking (in one of several large parking structures nearby), there is no entrance fee. The festival is active during daylight hours only.

Sad to hear they're charging for 2025 festival not a big enough festival to charge and then spend money inside. I'm very sad to hear that Riverside City did not coordinate with them charging at these times is not a good thing. I would've been there if it was free and spent money there.

A Dickens festival with no Charles Dickens? What a sorry excuse for what used to be a great family entertainment. There was but one Dickens character and a few authors, some who were not Dickens contemporaries. This year the Riverside Dickens Festival appeared as some type of convoluted renaissance festival knockoff with a few folks in Victorian attire.What a strange affair. It is hard to fathom that this year they charged $10 to get in and $5 to park.

Free admission to stroll around and view all the vendors , selling victorian (&"steampunk")themed goods for sale . Tempting treats to eat ! Hair braiding is new to the " victorian marketplace " this year -- so come by BAWDY BRAIDS for a french braided hairstyle complete with rose decorations ! Also new is Madera Cup Co.'s wood mugs for drinking ! You know --- Adult Drinks---at "the Tavern" ! There are also many small dramas & shows throughout the day that cost a small fee . Very reasonable prices for quality"live theatre" ! I think it will be fun to CAMP NEARBY at Rancho Jarupa park and enjoy the Riverside Dickens Festival all weekend ! CHEERS !

I've been attending this fest for maybe 3 or 4 years. The daytime event is decent and educational. The various musicals acts were nice, and I think I had spied the Punch & Judy show. The vendor booths were spread out and everything really kind of felt "disjointed" this year. Some of the vendor booths were closed up, and it felt like there were fewer vendors than previous years. Before, I would have easily have spent a couple hundred dollars between everything but this time I walked out empty handed. We usually get dressed up, too, but this last time, we went down in our Muggle clothes and just walked the event. We ran into some friends, chatted a bit, and we were pretty much done in 30 minutes. I only saw 1 food stand (Fish & Chips), and the entertainment stage with the bar inside was packed to the walls. This year was also the first time I went to the Fezziwig Ball in the evening. I had a great time dancing. It was my first time ever doing these specific dances, and everyone was nice to help me out. That's about the extent of the good things. The venue was strange. The dance floor was too small for the number of people and there weren't enough seats for everyone. If you purchased the ticket to dance ($45), you were routed all the way around backstage through a labyrinth of corridors. They did have a break room available backstage if you wanted to get away from the stage. The observation ticket ($15) allowed access to the balcony seating only upstairs, no seating in the lower theater. I had purchased the dance ticket for my husband so that we could hang out (he's not a dancer), but he ended up wandering to the observation area and stayed up there. There was one bar to get alcoholic drinks, and it was far from what I would call a "lounge". That was inconveniently upstairs right outside the observation area. Basically, all the way back through the backstage labyrinth, through the lobby, and then upstairs. The website had indicated that there would be character actors talking or giving demonstrations, Victorian Cards Against Humanity, Taxidermy, and other activities, but the only thing was the Séance demonstration. I had higher expectations, and the overall event was a let down. Other people were talking about how great the event was at the other venue, but I heard that location had already been booked for something else. I probably won't do the Ball next year unless a lot changes.

This year was better than the last. Despite trading out some of the actors portraying the authors, they still put together a solid event that's still FREE to the public. I feel I should first remark on how impressed I was with the gentleman playing Mark Twain this year. After his presentation on "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" he opened the floor to questions, a ballsy move at an event like this. Right away he was inundated with the "experts" who opened with, "I've been to your house in Connecticut, why don't you tell us about it," to which he not only described the home in question in detail (including the library's hand-carved mantle with a fireplace imported from India), but he humanized it speaking lovingly of his Livie and the girls reading and sewing in the parlor. He ducked no questions, no matter how much people tried to stump him, and beamed when my friend and I asked him about his relationship with Mr. Tesla. He closed on a poignant note, speaking on writing Eve's portion of "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" after his wife, Olivia, had passed away drawing his inspiration for the first woman from her. The man nearly wept. After which we sat through their Edgar Allan Poe perform a dramatic retelling of "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." I was skeptical that I'd enjoy it, but wow.. the guy actually hams it up pretty nicely and does this amazingly eerie voice for the M. Valdemar when he's in suspended animation. He captured Poe so well. Following that was a debate between Mark Twain and H.G. Wells on time travel. It wasn't so much a debate as the moderator asking them how it applies in their books "A Connecticut Yankee" and "The Time Machine," respectively. I'm pleased to report there were far fewer fascinators this year. In the past, you'd see women donning miniature top hats all over. This year, they seemed to have been replaced with goggles. Ah, steampunk. Its diffusion was inevitable. More vendors were dealing in gears, goggles, kraken and octopus brooches, and Dr. Who than I'd ever seen before, foregoing selling items closer to historical accuracy and pushing for more anachronism. But that's OK. I like it. But back to speak of the vendor room - or London Marketplace as it's called - as a whole, it seemed like there were more dealers this year and I felt it was a wise decision to put a Victorian music stage in their area so it adds to the ambiance. OK, so they are hosting in a convention center. While I do miss when the festival were outside on Mission Inn Avenue, with the tarps and such, since there's been a threat of rain each year (and the wind *was* pretty strong this year), it's a cozier gathering with more rooms and sections all in one building. There appeared to be only two food booths this year, dealing in ice cream and kettle corn, outside of the convention center's concession stand. Honestly, that's OK too. I prefer wandering into the downtown, old town area to grab a bite. The degree of detail put into the people's costumes could rival any Renaissance faire, where anachronism is more rampant, and thankfully no one at Dickens Fest mocks your own lack of accuracy or costume. We couldn't stop laughing in Oliver's Alley - the children's area - when we overheard this storytelling group singing the tale of Sweeney Todd to a group of kids. I think I remember there being a comical part about a bird pecking out a hanged man's eyes, and amusingly the kids looked so indifferent while the parents smirked uneasily. These are some hearty kids. Are the workhouses laboring them too hard? Still, I thoroughly recommend watching the Gordon Highlanders drill and firing demonstration. Men in kilts... firing off a Gatling gun. You MUST see this.

02/10/10 I tried to write an update but it would not let me so here is my update! I was talking to a gal yesterday about Dickens and of the book that I read in high school vaguely recalling some details and she knew exactly what Dickens book it was.. "Great Expectations" This festival had faux criminals lurking the the area that reminded me of the Dickens novel I read in school. (read on)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My friend and I managed to do a photo shoot in Riverside recently and I heard some of the models talking about a Dickens Festival. So, after we wrapped the photo shoot up my friend and I drove into the historic area of downtown Riverside in search of food and a vintage boutique shops. We ended up smack dab in the middle of the Victorian era. We found ourselves in the midst of the final day of the Dickens Festival. Basically it's a bunch of people dressed up and I mean really dressed up to the T in the Victorian Era. Tons of big tall hats, large women wearing large puffy dresses that were beautiful detailed and wigs tons of big hair sans the "Bump It" .. This is the Dickens Festival so of course there had to be those dressed up in the "Christmas Carol" characters.. Did I mention that they all take on a British accent? They even had the Queens court that you could take photos with (ours to follow) Everything from cannons, weapons, live music, to horse drawn buggy rides. Even the Goth's were out dressed in what seriously maybe there every day dark garb. I know it was mine in high school lace and black long dresses. It all hit me then a book that I read in high school that this festival reminded me off other than Dickens material and Emily Dickinson poetry but I want to say "The Benefactor" not sure if that is the correct name but after I saw that "Dickens" era criminal looking bum playing the banjo and singing on the corner I recalled that book that I had to read in English. What is the name, Now, it is eating me! The festival apparently takes place annually in the Downtown Riverside area near The Mission. It's a cute area and would I come back... Possibly not. It seemed more fun for those in character. It was to them what the Renaissance Fair is to the renaissance fans. They also had booths yielding food and jewelry. We literally lasted no more than forty minutes before we were ready to go.

This is a really awesome throwback festival that we just happened to be in town for! It's pretty stellar to see so many people walking around all decked out in this old fashion attire, it's really like walking through a time warp and getting an idea of what it would have been like to live back then. We saw dances, musicians, vendors, and so much more.If you are in the area during this event or planning on coming around this time be sure and check out this great event.We also saw actors giving soliloquies of which my favorite was Poe.

A wonderful event even with the rain (I guess it adds to the Victorian charm). The author panels are especially worth it and are an entertaining way to learn more about Victorian writers. The vendors had interesting wares (including steampunk items) and although there weren't many food opportunities we enjoyed our Shepard's pie. We bought tickets to the Jack the Ripper trial which was fun especially since it was located in a real court room (they had some background info on the case in the entrance hall). The actual play was entertaining although somewhat light. We'll definitively will go again next year.

Definitely try this. Many things are free, so you have nothing to lose. Actors impersonating Dickens, Poe, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Twain, HG Wells and more have scheduled speeches. Stages have free bands. We bought tickets for a tea with food and performances and a seance. Both were OK. I wouldn't enthusiastically recommend them, but they weren't bad. My family may not do those again. Lots of vendors have cool jewelry, clothing, etc. Food vendors were long lines, out of bottled water before noon, expensive and mediocre food. I got fish and chips with raw french fries. When I asked for fully cooked fires, they didn't have time and again gave me barely cooked, cold fries, so we all walked to a local cafe on the plaza. Next time we visit Dickens Festival I will probably plan to eat in a local restaurant; and plan to not stay the night or stay farther away. The Mission Inn was a disaster. Too bad, because it is historic and beautiful. But they had parties in the event rooms and drunken teenagers running up and down the halls laughing. So trashy. Locals told me the Mission Inn has been going downhill for years.