The Dickens Festival is some of the best holiday cheer in Southern Utah

When it comes to celebrating Christmas in Washington County, you certainly have some options to choose from; However, arguably the largest event based around the holiday season is the Dickens Festival that takes place every year at the Dixie Convention Center.

As I walked through the doors, I felt the air from the main room of the convention center blow into my face (not sure if it was intentional) making it feel like I was entering a winter wonderland without all the frostbite and layers of clothing.

Instead, I was greeted by a large variety of booths, activities, and a whole lot of ways to use my new credit card I just got.

While the festival does have plenty of traditional holiday shops with clothing, knick-knacks, and a whole bunch of high calory specialties like fudge and cinnamon rolls, I was drawn in by the specialty booths that you wouldn’t expect to find.

Multiple artists can be found throughout the Dicken’s Festival, each with their own unique style that made browsing their work a joy.

One standout was a booth that sold film cells from iconic movies throughout history. Along with the film cells was a gallery of classic Disneyland posters that were taken out of circulation. It even included some posters from rides no longer available like Splash Mountain.

I felt like I ate my own weight in free samples as I walked through the alleyways of the festival, like lemon honey butter which is surprisingly incredible. Pretzels, salsa, dressing, pastries, fudge, and so much more that I’d need to go back a second time to take notes on all the free samples.

Toy shops and entertainment were also found throughout the venue that my niece went nuts for, and speaking of nuts, they’re apparently Queen Victoria’s favorite part of the Dicken’s Festival.

Did I mention Queen Victoria and characters from the world of Charles Dickens greet guests throughout eh festival? Because they do, and Queen Victoria was making the children feel like they were unbelievably special by speaking to her.

I managed to pull Queen Victoria aside to ask her some questions and she was more than happy to answer them in a jovial British accent.

Queen Victoria said, “Oh the Dickens Festival is just lovely. It is held in England and Mr. Charles Dickens is putting on this wonderful festival. You get to come around and see the people and experience all the food and taste of England. It is set in old England of course, which is one of my most preferred places in all the land.”

When I asked her majesty about what her favorite booth was, she said she needed to stay neutral, but did give a suggestion that I think many people will enjoy.

Queen Victoria said, “There are quite a few booths. Oh goodness, places to eat or things that you want to buy, you can really get them both. There is a place called Sugar Bear that has the most lovely nuts in all the land…..as soon I heard myself say that I thought it was not quite right.”

You heard her folks, best nuts in the land. That’s actually not a joke, I tried the nuts, and they were fantastic.

The Dickens Festival runs from November 29 to December 2 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and it costs $10 to enter the main venue.