dickens on the strand

GALVESTON ― Dressing for Dickens on The Strand can be the best part of the whole festival ― just ask Peggy Wardell, owner of Peggy's Victorian Corner. She has been sewing costumes for all the Victorian ladies and gentlemen for the past 17 years.

Enter her shop at 101 21st St. in Galveston and step back more than 100 years to a world of long dresses with bustles, feathered hats, costume jewelry and beaded capes. In the far corner, customers will find Wardell sitting behind her sewing machine amid an array of fabric bolts.

The annual Dickens on The Strand festival is without a doubt Wardell's busiest time of year.

"I can't keep up with the number of people anymore," she said. "Each outfit is my own design, and they all take time." She added that, although she can sew a costume suitable for whatever role a person wishes to play in the festival, most people like to dress as a Victorian lady or gentleman.

"People really like fancy," she said. "Now, the costumes have evolved to where they're even fancier."

Wardell's costumes are worn year after year by Dickens festival-goers, and she said people are wearing her designs as far away as Poland and Australia.

The guest of honor at each festival is, of course, "Queen Victoria," also known as Deer Park resident Anne Boyd. This year, Boyd is wearing one of Wardell's black-cut silk-and-velvet creations to the ball. But, fortunately for the modern-day "queen," breathing in the dress will be much easier than it would have been for the actual Victoria, who spent a fair amount of her life wearing gowns complete with a waist-punishing corset. Dickens "ladies" need not worry about wearing such an uncomfortable garment.

"They wore corsets then, but their bodies were different. I make the dresses to where the ladies do not have to wear a corset," Wardell said. "Our bodies are just not the same as theirs were."

Hats are a must for all Victorian ladies.

"They have to go on right," she said. "My hats are all my own design, just like the costumes. There are a lot of ladies who think they can't wear a hat, but they can. The right hat depends on their personality, their shape, their face and their height. My hats have evolved, just like the dresses have."

Men wishing to transform into a Victorian gentleman can find top hats, canes and tapered trousers, shirts, vests and an assortment of coats at Peggy's. A participant playing the part of working man might wear baggy wool or corduroy pants.

"My favorite part of my Dickens on The Strand business is when the women bring in their husbands," Wardell said. "The women bring them in, pulling them. That's the first year. The second year, they want to wear that top hat and cane and go out on the street!"

It's well known among Dickens on The Strand participants that wearing the costumes becomes addictive.

"Once you get addicted, you have to get a closet for your costumes. It gets in your blood," she said.

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Forecast

Today

Mostly cloudy with some fog in the morning. The afternoon will be partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds will blow at 15 to 20 miles per hour.

Tonight

Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and lows around 70 degrees. South winds will blow at 10 to 20 miles per hour.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be in the upper 70s. Southwest winds will blow at 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Sunday night

Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening and partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain after midnight. Temperatures will be cooler with lows in the lower 50s inland and in the mid-50s on the coast.

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Tickets

WHAT: 34th Dickens on The Strand

WHEN: Today and Sunday

WHERE: The Strand and downtown Historic Galveston

TICKETS: Call 877-772-5425 or visit www.dickensonthestrand.org

Tickets on Today and Sunday

Adult tickets cost $12; tickets for children ages 7 to 12 cost $6. Those wearing Victorian attire will be admitted for half-price at the gate. Children younger than 7 get in for free.

Gates are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Special events

10 a.m. Today ― Opening ceremony, Saengerfest Park, 23rd and The Strand streets

2 p.m. Today ― The Queen's Parade

4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. ― Henry Dickens Hawksley, book signing, The Tremont House, 2300 Ship's Mechanic Row

7 p.m. Today ― Pickwick's Lantern Light Parade

3 p.m. Sunday ― The Queen's Parade It's good to be the queen
As Victoria, Deer Park's Anne Boyd holds court every year in Galveston


By LANA BERKOWITZ
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

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34th annual Dickens on the Strand
Here's a quick rundown of some festival events that are of note:

Her Majesty Queen Victoria's Knighting Ceremony 11 a.m. Saturday, Westminster Abby Stage, 23rd Street and Strand

Royal Victorian Wedding Ceremony Noon Saturday, Westminster Abbey Stage

The Queen's Parades 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday 10-block procession through historic downtown

Dickens Costume Contests 4:30 p.m. Saturday for ladies and gentlemen 1 p.m. Sunday for families and Dickens characters

Pickwick's Lanternlight Parade 7 p.m. Saturday

Children's Activities Saturday and Sunday

A Royal Menagerie petting zoo and pony rides, Scrooge's Scavenger Hunt, elephant rides, puppet shows and craft activities. And each day there will be snow in a winter wonderland park on the Strand for children 10 and younger at 10 a.m. until it melts.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 7 to 12. Children under 7 are admitted for free. Visitors to the festival dressed in Victorian-era costumes will be admitted for half price at the gate. Info: www.galvestonhistory.com/dickens or 409-765-7834.


A Dickens reader
Charles Dickens wrote more than 25 books during his long working life, and almost every one, to this day, has its champion. If you hanker to sample the man's work, I'd start with these five:

1. David Copperfield. Dickens' own "favorite child" among his books, this coming-of-age novel is his most autobiographical.

2. Great Expectations. Another coming-of-age story. Leering villains, crazy old ladies, a touching love story ― the book has it all.

3. Martin Chuzzlewit. Not one of Dickens' best-known novels but considered by some to be his funniest. Includes satiric segment set in the United States.

4. Bleak House. Next time you hear somebody complaining about how litigious Americans are, remind them of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the Kafkaesque lawsuit that launches Bleak House 's plot. Among Dickens' darkest books. Also widely regarded as his greatest.

5. A Christmas Carol. Everybody has seen the stage version. Far fewer have read the novella. It plus four lesser-known holiday tales by Dickens may conveniently be sampled in A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books , from Oxford University Press.

-- FRITZ LANHAM
It's not a royal setting, but this Queen Victoria is in her element.

The sea of elementary-school students parts as the queen sweeps down the hall with her colorful Dickens on the Strand entourage.

Her majesty and court are escorted to the school library to meet their subjects: little kids who know little about the Victorian era or Charles Dickens.

This is perfect for Anne Boyd, who becomes Queen Victoria. She gets to indulge two of her passions: acting and working with children.

Children may not know anything about Queen Victoria when Boyd walks in, however they know that the tiara and extra jewelry mean that the lady in black is special.

And you can't help but notice that everyone defers to her majesty.

The queen dismisses Ebenezer Scrooge with the brush of her hand. She nods indulgently when the town crier announces her presence. She looks to her royal escort for extra attention. "It's good to be queen," she likes to tell kids.

In preparation for this weekend's 34th annual Dickens on the Strand, students at Galveston's Parker Elementary were treated Wednesday to a visit from Queen Victoria, old Scrooge, a town crier and other costumed characters. Plus, the real-life great-great-great grandson of Charles Dickens read from A Christmas Carol.

While Scrooge acted grumpy and the town crier got the kids' attention with his bell clanging, Queen Victoria held court. She talked about her clothes and elicited a sympathetic "oooh" from one class when she explained that the brooch featuring her husband, Albert, is worn close to her heart because she loved him very much. Albert died of typhoid when the queen was 44 years old. She mourned his death the rest of her life, hence the black attire.

The students asked questions about dungeons and her jewelry. The queen talked about flags, Christmas at Buckingham Palace and tiaras vs. crowns.

On Saturday and Sunday, Galveston's Strand becomes a Dickens wonderland, and anyone can pretend to be a Victorian lady or gentleman in London. You don't have to dress up to enjoy the festival, but Boyd has an elaborate outfit for each event.

As queen, she will attend the annual feast, knighting ceremony and a wedding. She also will judge a costume contest and lead the opening parades.

When she's not otherwise engaged, Queen Victoria will walk the Strand greeting guests and posing for photos. It's a magical time for Boyd.

"You see people in Victorian attire. Everyone moves a little slower. Everyone's more genteel," she said. "It's a wonderful transformation."

Boyd, a volunteer for the Galveston Historical Foundation, got involved with Dickens on the Strand back in the 1980s after reading in the Chronicle about the need for costumed characters.

Boyd was given the task of cleaning and repairing bobby uniforms for the festival in 1995 when an events coordinator discovered that Boyd acted in regional productions and had taught acting classes. That's when the GHF coordinator recruited Boyd to play Queen Victoria.

Now Queen Victoria is an important part of Boyd's life.

"It's been a real blessing," Boyd said. The role has taken her to Canada several times to portray the queen, and she has been a guest in the England home of Charles Dickens' descendants. She has fans and friends in far-flung locales.

Her Houston co-workers notice Boyd's exuberance level increases this time of year. It's a given she'll take her vacation time to work the festival, and they'll welcome her back Tuesday to her desk in the human resources department at Grant Thornton, where she is a valued member of the firm's community service committee, said Reed Wood, a Grant Thornton partner.

At home in Deer Park, Boyd spends hours researching Victorian times so she can answer questions posed to her as Queen Victoria. She makes period-correct outfits with her friend Peggy Wardell of Peggy's Victorian Corner in Galveston.

Boyd's attention to detail impresses George Forest, a longtime royal escort, who also has served in ceremonial courts for the real Queen Elizabeth. Forest travels from British Vancouver every year to serve as the Galveston queen's Captain George.

"She knows her history," Forest said. "It's not phony for her."

Queen Victoria has become a beacon of the festival, said Clay Wade, GHF director of events, and he says that Boyd sees it more than just another role. As one of about 1,000 volunteers who work on Dickens on the Strand, Boyd's dedication stands out, Wade said. "She works on this for months in advance."

With her own shillings, Boyd also prepares a Tuesday luncheon for GHF staffers and coordinates personal appearances to promote Dickens on the Strand.

"Community outreach holds a special place in Anne's heart," Wade said. "I think for Anne, one of the highlights of the week is the visit to the University of Texas Medical Branch pediatric unit (in Galveston)."

Wade is right. Boyd gets teary-eyed talking about visiting the children with other costumed characters to hand out her gift bags.

"If I can bring 10 minutes of pleasure ... " Boyd said before dabbing her eyes again