CityView Magazine

head downtown for a spot of cider and a little time travel After lunching on leftovers, I to the otherwise commercial craze. On November 25, Hay Street will be transformed into Victorian England for A Dickens t's no wonder the day after Thanksgiving gets a bad rap. Still in a turkey stupor, crowds head out unseasonably early to nab low-priced gadgets, highways are packed like overstuffed Tupper- ware and the reality of eating corn casserole all week starts to set in. Luckily, downtown Fayetteville provides a unique alternative Holiday, a twelve-year tradition in Fayetteville and — with carriage rides, costumes and fireworks on offer — one many people now look forward to as much as Christmas morning. Dr. Hank Parfitt of the Downtown Alliance is not at all surprised by the event's growing popularity. "It's a much more relaxed, genteel celebration of the holidays," Parfitt said. As one of the event's founders, Parfitt has watched it grow from a gathering of 4,000 people to an event almost 15,000 strong. Hay Street comes alive with people — or townspeople as they're called on that day — dressed in period costumes, enjoying cider and gingerbread and browsing the arts and crafts vendors. Dickensian characters, from Scrooge to Tiny Tim will be out and about enjoying English banter and plenty of photo opportunities. Gerry Cruse, co-founder of the River Valley Players, heads a group of strolling carolers, an admittedly odd concept to the generations raised on electronic media. "They didn't have things like CD players back then," Cruse said. "People just went around singing." If strolling isn't your style, hitch wagon Victorian carriage rides offer a bird's eye view of the festivities until the London Bobbies clear the streets to make way for Queen Victo- ria and the candlelight procession. "Some people get their picture taken with Father Christmas each year or take a car- riage ride. For most, the sense of tradition is about the candlelight procession," Mary Kinney, Director of Marketing for the Fayetteville Arts Council, said. CityViewNC.com | 45

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