Big as the Dickens: Hernando prepares for largest-ever Christmas event
Hernando officials anticipate about 15,000 people will visit the city’s annual Dickens of a Christmas event, which begins Friday, Nov. 8, with ice skating and a Christmas tree lighting.
Throughout two days, guides adorned in top hats, morning coats and hoop skirts will wander the city’s historic Town Square as the area is transformed into 1830s England, a world captured in Charles Dickens’ classics like “A Christmas Carol.”
“We started Dickens of a Christmas because it focuses on the Victorian era, which is the time that our city was incorporated,” said Gia Matheny, community development director for the City of Hernando.
Hernando steps back in time this weekend with Dickens of a Christmas festival
Hernando, the DeSoto County seat, was first incorporated in 1936. Originally known as the town of Jefferson, the city later took the name of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, the first documented European to cross the Mississippi River.
“We try to bring people back to that time when we were founded,” Matheny said. “And although Charles Dickens’ characters are based in England, it still pulls in the holidays and brings the Christmas spirit to our visitors.”
Topics
DeSoto County North Memphis City of Hernando Dickens of a Christmas Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.
Rob Moore
Rob Moore covers North Mississippi for The Daily Memphian. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from The University of Memphis.
Suburbs - North Mississippi on demand
Sign up to receive Suburbs - North Mississippi stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.