What To Do In Port Jeff: #80 - Attend the Dickens Festival

Every year for one whole weekend the village of Port Jefferson is transformed into a Dickensian town reminicent of the classic Christmas tale, A Christmas Carol. Characters from Scrooge and Father Christmas and the street urchins and a Victorian choir singing carols along Main Street walk the streets of the village.

Things usually open on Friday evening at the when a town crier announces the begining of the festival and the Mayor of Port Jefferson ceremoniously hands over the key to the village to the Mayor of London. Traditionally a choir sings carols and reads a passage from the novel.

Over the course of the weekend hundreds of events happen in spaces, alleys and streets all over the village with a Victorian Christmas theme, including , plays, , carols, tours, and . It has even been known for a to occur during the weekend.

The weekend ends with a parade down Main Street and West Broadway to where the village Christmas Tree is lit.

The festival started when . It has been going on for more than 15 years now and has become one of the largest events organized by the village of Port Jefferson.