Hernando set for another “Dickens” of a weekend

The sixth annual Dickens of a Christmas weekend event originally came about as a way to enhance the annual Christmas Open House promotion that is done by the Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce. While Christmas Open House continues as a Chamber activity, Dickens is done as a citywide event that has helped people from far and wide start to think about the Christmas holiday season while in a Victorian-era setting. This year’s Dickens of a Christmas will start Friday evening, Nov.8 and continue during the day on Saturday, Nov. 9.  

“Christmas Open House has been going on for more than 30 years,” said Hernando Community and Economic Development Director Gia Mathney. ”We wanted to make the Open House extra special, to see more hustle and bustle for Christmas time. So we started Dickens of a Christmas as an opportunity to enhance the Chamber’s Open House.”

This year, the weekend starts around 4:30 p.m on Friday, Nov. 8, with the Christmas tree lighting creemony on the Courthouse Square, an event that includes Mayor Chip Johnson reading a Christmas story to youngsters.

There will be ice skating on an artificial ice rink, a beer garden and food court will be there, and there will be a free holiday movie shown on the Square to enjoy that night after the tree lighting.  The movie is Tim Allen’s “The Santa Clause.” 

“Our Parks Foundation oversees the beer garden and the food court, so all proceeds benefit the Parks Foundation,” Matheny said. “We’re also going to have a special treat with the DeSoto County Shriners, which will actually be located inside a retail establishment on the south side of the square. They are going to have the front of that retail space decorated with Christmas trees. You can buy raffle tickets to win one of the trees.”

Matheny added that the raffle is part of a national fundraiser for the Shriners, but funds raised in Hernando will directly benefit local Shrine programs.  

The city will get even busier on Saturday, Nov. 9, starting at 9 a.m., all while the Hernando Farmers Market continues. While the crush of people attracted to Dickens means parking problems, that should ease this year with the availability of a shuttle service. The shuttle will run between the Kroger Marketplace pharmacy, the DeSoto County Museum, and different businesses on Commerce Street on its way to the Courthouse Square and the event on Saturday between 9 a.m.-5 p.m.  

“We’ve just run out of parking,” Johnson said. “We have so many people in town, we’ve got to spread the parking out so the trolley ride will help ease that a great deal.”

The shuttle service is free, but donations will be accepted for the local Meals on Wheels program.  

The need for a trolley became more clear as Dickens has become such a major event that grows each year.  It’s now the city’s largest annual event, Johnson said.  

“We had 13,000 people last year,” Johnson said. “That’s a lot of people to put in downtown. Hernando.”

“It has grown about 2,000 or so more every single year,” Matheny added. “It’s just a positive experience for our residents and for our visitors and our businesses have really seen the benefit.”

A horse drawn carriage ride will provide a tour around the museum to and from the Square.  

Entertainment during the day will be busy and will feature Kevin and Bethany Paige. They are a musical duo with over 20 years of experience entertaining on Beale Street. The evening performance will include both classic Christmas songs and unique modern arrangements.

“They open Graceland every year for the big Christmas performance, so they’re very well recognized,” Matheny said. 

Other musical sounds will range from bluegrass and strings to part of Opera Memphis coming to perform and the main stage for the entertainment will be at the Overton Park Mobile Shell Several other events are taking part during the day and a complete listing of events is available on the City of Hernando website or by downloading the City of Hernando mobile app.  The app is available for a free download for smartphones on Google Play or the Apple App Store.  

“Every year, our citizens really enjoy coming to Dickens of a Christmas,” Johnson said. “Many of them participate in it, and others come just for the fun and to educate their kids with the tradesmen who are out there doing blacksmithing and basket weaving and glass blowing. So it’s an educational, yet fun, fun event.”