During the month of December David and I would usually attend at least one holiday performance per weekend. We try to rotate among our favorites, but there is one  one event we never miss: The Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace. We dress in our Victorian-style finery and spend a day (and occasionally two!) wandering through the magically created streets of Victorian London, soaking up holiday spirit. This is also a great shopping opportunity, with lots of artisan-created goods. We enjoy a vast array of entertainment, from individual "street performers" by the more than 100 characters in costume, to a remarkable number of stage productions. We almost always meet some of our dance friends at Fezziwig's Warehouse waltzing or watching them perform. We've seen quite credible short productions of Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas. And we always end our day at the Faire with two performances: first is the Naughty French postcards. It's a bit hard to describe...a live story illustrated with still tableaux of performers behind a scrim in various states of artistic undress. It always sells out!

And then there's Mad Sal's Alehouse, where the final show of the day is always a wonderful collection of really talented singers, dancers and musicians, performing songs of the season, with the final performance of the day always an "adult" rendition!

As Fair cannot take place this year, you can enjoy recordings of various past performances. It's not the same of course, but will give you some idea of the variety of events.  

Throughout the day there are wonderful aromas of mulled wine and cinnamon almonds that are freshly cooked for sale in multiple locations. I hope you enjoy the attached recipe (which I usually make with a mix of almonds and walnuts)! To sweet holidays!

Arlene

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Click on the image above or here to connect to Dickens Fair at Home.